This is a soup that my
mother used to make every now and then. Usually when her friend Mary Santangelo
gave her a couple big Cucuzza, from their backyard garden in Garfield. My
mother Lucia learned this recipe from her mother who used to make it back in
Sicily, and she learned how to make it from her mother, my Great Grandmother
Salemi. This dish is one of the quintessential recipes of this book, and also
of both the Italian-American and Sicilian-American table as a whole, and of
course of Sicilians in Sicily, especially in the years of the first 70 years of
the 20th Century from around 1900 to 1970’s or so. The soup is easy
to make and quite economical, feeding about 15 or 16 portions of which you can
serve over a 3 - 4 day time. Cucuzza are not always available in every store,
however more and more super markets are carrying them during their growing season,
and you can always get them at any produce store that specializes in Italian
foods.
1 pound fresh cooked
Fava Beans, or frozen Baby Lima Beans (or canned lima beans)
1 pound imported Italian
Ditalini (or Ronzoni)
Cut off ends of the
Cucuzza and peel it with a vegetable peeler. Cut the Cucuzza in half
lengthwise. Scoop out seeds and discard. Cut into 1 ½ inch cubes.
Put olive oil and cucuzza
in a large 6-quart pot. Cook on medium heat for 5 minutes, occasionally
stirring with a wooden spoon. Add onion and cook for 4 minutes more.
Add garlic and cook for
3 minutes. Add red pepper, and cook for 2 minutes.
Add tomatoes and cook on
high heat for 5 minutes. Add water and cook on medium-low heat for 12 minutes.
Add Fava Beans (or Lima
Beans) and cook on low heat for 6 minutes.
Cook Ditalini according
to directions on package. When finished cooking, drain in a colander, making
sure to reserve 2 – 3 cups of water to add to soup.
Add all the pasta to the
soup. Add salt 7 Black Pepper and stir.
Add water little by
little to the soup until you reach the consistency that you like. The soup
should be fairly thick, yet slightly watery.
Ladle soup into bowls.
Drizzle a bit of olive oil over the top of each bow of soup and pass grated
cheese for your guest to put in their soup.
Save any remaining soup
in a closed container to enjoy anytime for lunch, dinner, or anytime
in-between.
