Name: Minestra di Bianchetti (Whitebait Soup)
Yield: Makes 4 to 6 servings
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 8 ounces/225 g fresh capelli di angelo or other thin egg noodles; ½ pound/8 ounces/225 g fresh whitebait or redbait; 1 extra-large egg, beaten with 1½ tablespoons/12 g fresh marjoram leaves; 1 tablespoon/15 ml Ligurian extravirgin olive oil; 6 to 8 cups/1½ to 2 liters Brodo di Pesce; ½ cup/60 g fresh baby peas (or thawed frozen peas if fresh are unavailable); 1 medium zucchini, cut into small cubes

Preparation info

Makes
4 to 6
servings

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Recipes from Paradise

By Fred Plotkin

Published 1997

About

This is an exquisite soup, one that is delicate and gratifying. I tasted it first in Savona, and order it whenever I see it on menus, mostly in the stretch of coast from Savona to Alassio. Your goal in preparing Minestra di Bianchetti is to strive for delicacy of texture and taste.

Ingredients

6 to 8 cups/1½ to 2 liters Brodo di Pesce
1 tablespoon/

Method

First have the fish broth at hand. Bring it to a near boil and keep it at that temperature. Then, in a skillet in which you have heated the olive oil, sauté the zucchini cubes until they are soft, about 2 minutes. Add the baby peas and sauté for another minute. Add the contents of the skillet and the capelli di angelo to the soup and cook for a minute. Add the whitebait and cook for a mi