Zucchini. soup, Amalfi-style (Zuppa de zucchini all'Amalfitana)

Sometimes a soup brings out the vegetable's freshness and flavour. This is the soup that pushes boring zucchini to a masterful vegetable. For this recipe, use only young zucchini, not older ones, and red, ripe tomatoes with a beautiful flavour. This is a simple soup, and ingredients matter so much.

The soup can be left chunky, but I find that folks are put off by the soft vegetables and end up focusing on the flavours rather than the beautiful soup. So I puree the soup to a thick, creamy texture, and folks then love the soup. The freshness of zucchini comes through, with the light green of the skin and the basil leaf adding a herby touch. The potato acts as the base and thickens the soup with the eggs.

When I say zucchini soup, folks usually frown, but then this soup changes their mind, both on the vegetable, as well as on how wonderful a soup can be.

Marcella Hazan is considered by many to be the doyen of Italian food and is credited with bringing traditional Italian cuisine to the US. She has published numerous cookbooks, and I have quite a few of them. I have no idea how I started collecting her cookbooks, but each one, including this one, is a gem. Her amazing story of becoming one of the best-loved Italian chefs in America is detailed in a New Yorker article here. This volume is loaded with non-fussy traditional recipes that stay true to the core of light Italian cooking. The dishes transport you back to Italy. This book is a compendium of classic recipes, one that belongs on every chef's kitchen counter and should be pulled out to curb that craving for great, healthy Italian cuisine.

For more recipes from this cookbook, click here

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons pancetta, finely diced (optional)

1 onion, finely diced

1 large tomato, finely diced

Salt, to taste

1/2 teaspoon pepper

3 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed into 1-inch pieces

8 cups water or stock of your choice

10 Italian basil leaves

1 lb zucchini, stem removed and cubed

1 egg. whipped with a pinch of salt

Parmesan cheese, grated. for garnish

Italian basil leaves for garnish

Heat the oil and pancetta (if using) in a pot until the pancetta is browned and the fat is rendered, about 2 minutes. Add the onion and sauté on low heat until very soft but not coloured, about 5 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, salt, and pepper, and cook for 10 minutes, until the tomatoes have broken down and formed a sauce. Add the potatoes and cook for 10 minutes in the sauce, until the potatoes begin to soften. Add the water or stock and bring to a simmer. Cook on a low simmer for 30 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and mash easily.

Add the basil and zucchini, and top up with water if needed. Simmer for 20 more minutes until the zucchini is soft.

You can leave the soup chunky, but I find the textures very mushy. I usually puree it with a hand blender or in a blender into a thick soup, one with the consistency of heavy cream.

To serve, heat the soup and, when it is about to start bubbling, gently pour in the egg in a very thin stream while stirring continuously. You want the egg incorporated into the soup, not scrambled. Cook and stir until the soup is very hot and the egg is thoroughly cooked, then mix in seamlessly.

Serve in bowls topped with Parmesan cheese and a basil leaf, with a slice of buttered sourdough bread.