Name: Asti-Style Soup with Pork Ribs, Chickpeas, and Potatoes (Zuppa Astigiana con Costicine e Ceci)
Yield: For 4 persons if served as a one-course meal for 6 if the first of two courses
Cuisine: Italy
Ingredients: 2 medium potatoes; Salt; Black pepper ground fresh; 1 tablespoon rosemary leaves, chopped very, very fine; 1 pound pork short ribs, cut into 1-inch pieces; 3 bay leaves; 1 tablespoon very finely chopped garlic; 1 cup very thinly sliced onion; 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil; Two 16-ounce cans chickpeas

Preparation info

For
4
persons if served as a one-course meal for 6 if the first of two courses

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Marcella Cucina

By Marcella Hazan

Published 1997

About

One of the major events of the year on many Italian farms, taking place as the season begins to cross the bridge between fall and winter, is the butchering of a pig. The Italian expression is fare il maiale, “do the pig.” Some farmers “do” it themselves; others hire a specialized crew. The law prescribes that the pig be dispatched instantly, but there are those who ignore that requirement and bleed it slowly to death, a procedure whose details I shall spare you. The justification for