In Tuscany, as is well known, we love soups. In Lucca, spring is announced by the first produce in the vegetable garden and the fields, which everyone awaits in order to prepare one of the freshest and tastiest soups of the year, made precisely for a short period, as long as they are available.
The quantities, of course, are indicative and can be varied according to personal taste. Peas and onions add sweetness, broad beans give a more rustic flavour, artichokes and asparagus a refined tone and a decided taste of spring!
Here is the traditional recipe but, nothing prevents you from replacing the pancetta and the veal with a pinch of spring aromatic herbs, calamint and thyme, and finishing the preparation with a crumbled hard-boiled egg, for a good vegetarian version.
What you need
2 fresh spring onions
100 g of pancetta
100 g of veal
3 artichokes
100 g of asparagus tips
100 g of fresh peas
100 g of shelled broad beans
salt and pepper
day-old, toasted bread
How to make it
Finely chop the onion, mince the pancetta and the veal.
Sauté everything in a few tablespoons of olive oil.
Once this base is golden, add the broad beans, the peas, the artichokes cut into wedges and finally the asparagus tips.
Cook, adding a little broth if necessary.
When the vegetables are half-cooked, add the remaining broth and let it cook for 10 minutes.
Serve with the toasted bread.
Enjoy your meal!