A Tasty Soup from Vieste

I peruse the Facebook posts from Vieste and Puglia for interesting sites to visit and for new recipes to try. It’s become a challenge to watch Italian chefs prepare a dish demonstrating the technique and the ingredients. Of course, they are speaking Italian and the ingredients are listed in Italian.

The first thing I do is try to guess the ingredients. Then I copy and paste the recipe into Google translate. The results are not always the best! I have to say I’m improving at identifying the ingredients. When I’m stumped on a word, I send a message to my friend Amelia Bianchi, who I met when she came to Rhode Island to visit her family. She has promised to teach me how to make my grandmother’s cookies when I return to Italy. Hopefully, it will be this year if the health of the world returns to normal.

Last month, I saw a photo of this soup on the Vieste page, it looked delicious and then and there I decided I had to make it. First, I sent a message to Amelia to see if she were familiar with this dish and could translate the directions. Unfortunately, she had never heard of this soup.

Undeterred I turned to the translation application for guidance. Now the problem is that the translation isn’t always clear.  For instance, I not sure what a 1/2 tuft onions or 1 tuft parsley is!  Then there is this direction “let a plate heat up and place the slices of bread on it, letting them toast over a moderate flame on both sides” The directions go on further to state, “once the pumpkin and potato chickpea soup is ready, serve it hot, accompanying it with the croutons. You will see that goodness and, moreover, it will warm your hands and your heart. Enjoy your meal!” I just love how the recipe ended.

I did figure out that you should serve it with toasted bread, the photo showed the bread on the side of the bowl.  I substituted butternut squash for the pumpkin, decided that a small onion and a couple of tablespoons of parsley would work for the “tuft”.

I showed Sal Marzilli, the chef/owner of the Old Canteen Restaurant the Facebook post and the recipe. I was curious if he was familiar with the dish. Since he wasn’t, I brought him a sample to try. He was thrilled to be my taste tester! 

So here is my version of Zuppa di ceci, zucca e patate, it is delicious.

Zuppa di ceci, zucca e patate – Squash, Chickpea, & Potato Soup

1 can of Chickpea

2 cups butternut squash cut into small cubes.

2 medium potatoes peeled and cut into cubes.

2 carrots peeled and cut into pieces (I used yellow and purple carrots)

1 stalk of celery sliced into small pieces.

1 small onion sliced into thin slices.

1 14.5 oz can dice tomatoes (I used fire roasted)

Approximately 2 or 3 tablespoons of virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste.

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley.

In a 3 qt. saucepan, sauté the onions in the olive oil until soft and golden, add the celery, carrots, squash, and potatoes, stirring to prevent them from sticking. Cook for about 5 minutes, add the chickpea with the water to the pan and stir. Add the can of tomatoes and enough water to cover the vegetables by a couple of inches. Season with salt and pepper and cook for about 15 – 20 minutes until the vegetables are cooked and soup is reduced. Add the parsley and simmer for a few more minutes. Serve hot with Italian bread, toasted or not.