Zuppa di Zucca

By Patricia Winton

We’ve been having gray, rainy days of late here in Rome, and my thoughts center on warming soup (zuppa). One of my favorites, pumpkin (zucca) and chick pea (ceci) soup, comes with many variations. It’s one of those dishes that can be made from scratch or cobbled together from canned ingredients. Either way, a little careful seasoning perks up the flavors, and the soup can warm you to your toes.

Traditionally, the soup begins the day before when the ceci are put in a bowl of water to soak. After about twelve hours, they’ve absorbed enough moisture to ensure fairly rapid cooking. Here in Rome another soup reigns on Friday, and market stalls offer bags of pre-soaked ceci each week. Those provide a great short-cut. The ceci go into a pot along with a couple of cloves of garlic, chopped carrot, chopped celery, and a sprig of rosemary. These are simmered until the ceci are almost soft.

In Italy, you buy pumpkin by the slice. The canned variety is never available except at a tony shop at Thanksgiving; you need a second mortgage to buy a can, too. The fresh slice is quite hard to peel, so I usually nuke it a few minutes and scoop out the pulp. The pumpkin joins the ceci, and the simmering resumes until all the veggies are soft. At this point, many people add rice or pasta, but I prefer it plain. I do like a dash of hot pepper, however. At this point, I remove the rosemary and puree the soup with the stick blender or food processor. I serve it forth with a bit of grated Parmesan.

Try this simplified version.

ZUPPA DI ZUCCA E CECI

2 cloves garlic

1 rib of celery

1 carrot

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cans chick peas

1 1/2 cups water

1 sprig of fresh rosemary

1 can pumpkin

pinch of ground red pepper

salt and pepper to taste

grated Parmesan

1. Chop together the garlic, celery, and rosemary.

2. Heat the olive oil in a pot, and add the vegetables. Cook until soft, but not brown.

3. Drain and rinse the chick peas and add them to the vegetables. Pour in the water, cook for about 10 minutes over slow flame.

4. Stir in the pumpkin. Add a bit more water if the mixture seems too thick. Simmer another 5 minutes.

5. Remove the rosemary, and add the red pepper. Taste for seasoning. Since the canned vegetables will contain salt, you may not need more.

6. Serve with grated Parmesan.

NOTE: You can dress this up by adding small pasta, rice, or even tiny shrimp. It’s also good with bits of sausage.

Beyond Jack O’Lanterns and Pumpkin Pie

           Italians rarely use pumpkin for desserts, but it is frequently eaten as a vegetable in winter months. Canned pumpkin can be found in expensive import shops for about $5-8 per can, but pumpkin is readily available by the slice. Supermarkets have sliced pumpkin wrapped in plastic in the produce section. In vegetable markets, you can usually get the stall keepers to slice off a chunk of pumpkin with you choosing the width of the slice.

I find pumpkin somewhat difficult to peel, so I usually pop it into the microwave for a couple of minutes before carving out the pieces. If I want pumpkin puree for something like gnocchi or noodles, I nuke it for about fifteen minutes, making sure to have it in a bowl to catch the liquid it exudes. Then I scoop out the pulp and set it in a strainer for about half an hour for the additional water to drain, then puree it in a blender or food processor.

If you want to use your Halloween pumpkin, or part of it, you can also cook it in the oven for thirty to 40 minutes, again making sure it in a pan with deep sides to collect the excess water. Otherwise, you’ll flood your oven. This fresh pumpkin puree tastes stronger and fresher than the canned variety. Substitute two cups of fresh puree for a one-pound can of pumpkin.

Cubed pumpkin sauted in olive oil with garlic and rosemary makes a welcome autumn side dish. Sometimes it’s cooked with olives or onions, often paired with rosemary.

Soups based on pumpkin come in many forms. Sometimes with chick peas or with spinach. Other times it’s cooked with onions and small pasta shapes. You can also find many different types of risotto using pumpkin. I love gnocchi, little dumplings, made with pumpkin instead of potato and topped with a gorgonzola sauce.

But pumpkin reigns in pasta dishes. It’s often a filling for ravioli or tortellini and other stuffed pastas. It can be used to make pasta dough and cut into tagliatelle or fettuccini. Pasta flavored this way can take a delicate butter and parmesan sauce or a stronger sauce made with sausage.

Here’s one of my favorite recipes:

Lasagne con Crema di Zucca ai Formaggi

Lasagna with Pumpkin Cream and Cheese

8 ounces of fresh lasagna sheets (green, if available)

2 cups fresh pumpkin puree or 1 one-pound can pumpkin

3/4 cup grated parmesan

About 1 tablespoon butter (to grease the pan)

1/2 pound Fontina or other semi-soft cheese, cut into slices

1/2 cup cream

Whole nutmeg

Salt and pepper

1.     Preheat oven to 350 F.

2.     Cook the lasagna noodles in a large pot of lightly salted water until just barely al dente. Drain and stretch out on a clean kitchen towel to drain excess water.

3.     Mix the pumpkin pulp with 1/2 cup of the parmesan, cream, salt and pepper, and a grating of nutmeg.

4.     Butter a baking dish, and lay down one strip of lasagna. Spread on some of the pumpkin mixture, a layer of Fontina slices, and sprinkle on some of the remaining parmesan.

5.     Continue assembling these layers until all the ingredients have been used.

6.     Place the lasagna in the oven and bake for twenty minutes.

7.     Remove it from the oven and allow it to rest for a few minutes before serving.

8.     Serve with extra parmesan, if desired.