Aristide and Morena run a little store in via Santa Croce. You can easily
spot Aristide's car in the morning: it's the antique green
Renault 4 carrying
as many crates of fresh produce as can possibly fit in (and on top of!)
in such a small car.
They always have great fruit and veggies.
La zuppa di verdura (vegetable soup)
Ingredients (feeds 4 people):
1 red onion chopped coarsely
2 spring onions coarsely chopped
2 large carrots chopped
1 bunch of escarole
1/4 of a stalk of fresh fennel chopped
2 medium sized potatoes peeled and chopped
1 can red beans
3 cloves of garlic
1 can of lentils
3 tbs tomato paste
salt/ pepper to taste
2 to 3 slices crusty bread
Clean and chop all vegetables and put in large soup pot with 2 cloves
garlic crushed. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add cold water, to point
where veggies are completely covered and cook until it comes to a boil.
Then lower heat and let simmer until veggies are tender. Add can of red
beans and can of lentils. Then toast 2 to 3 thick slices of crusty sour
dough, french or italian bread. Rub garlic on both sides of toast to
create croutons. Cut toast up into squares and through into pot. Cook
anothe 5 minutes. Then add tomato paste and stir until the paste is
completely disolved into the soup. Cook another 5 minutes. Soup should be
rather thick, with a taste that is simillar to lentil soup. If soup is too thick,
because the bread has soaked up too much of the liquid, add some water and let cook
again. If the soup is too bland after that, add some more tomato paste, garlic, and
salt.
