Elaborate Mixed Vegetable Soup

Name: Elaborate Mixed Vegetable Soup
Yield: Makes 8 First-Course or 4 Main-Course Servings
Cuisine: United States
Ingredients: 1 fennel bulb, cut into 8 wedges; 5 tablespoons olive oil; 8 baby carrots, peeled or scraped; juice of ½ lemon; 8 baby artichokes; 1 pound fava beans, peeled twice, cooked for 2 minutes in boiling water, rinsed in cold water, and drained; 1 pound fava beans, peeled twice, cooked for 2 minutes in boiling water, rinsed in cold water, and drained; 1 pound wild mushrooms, preferably ½ pound each of two kinds, quickly rinsed, drained in a colander, and dried; 1 pound fava beans, peeled twice, cooked for 2 minutes in boiling water, rinsed in cold water, and drained; salt and pepper; salt and pepper; ¼ pound small French-style green beans, ends snapped off, cooked in boiling water until barely tender, drained, and rinsed in cold running water; ¼ pound small French-style green beans, ends snapped off, cooked in boiling water until barely tender, drained, and rinsed in cold running water; 24 pearl onions, peeled; 1 head of garlic, broken into cloves, peeled; 2 tablespoons unsalted butter; 2 teaspoons sugar; 1 medium-size bunch of spinach, stems removed and leaves cooked in simmering water for 30 seconds, drained, and rinsed with cold water; 1 medium-size bunch of spinach, stems removed and leaves cooked in simmering water for 30 seconds, drained, and rinsed with cold water; 1 head of garlic, broken into cloves, peeled; 1 medium-size bunch of spinach, stems removed and leaves cooked in simmering water for 30 seconds, drained, and rinsed with cold water; ½ cup heavy cream; 1 bunch of basil, stems removed, 1 cup tightly packed leaves, washed and dried; 1 bunch of basil, stems removed, 1 cup tightly packed leaves, washed and dried; 1 bunch of parsley, finely chopped; 3 large yellow tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped; 1 tablespoon olive oil; ¼ pound pancetta, prosciutto, or raw-cured ham, cut into ⅛- by 1-inch strips; ¼ pound pancetta, prosciutto, or raw-cured ham, cut into ⅛- by 1-inch strips; ¼ pound pancetta, prosciutto, or raw-cured ham, cut into ⅛- by 1-inch strips

Preparation info

Makes
8
First-Course

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Splendid Soups

By James Peterson

Published 2000

About

I made this soup for the first time one summer afternoon in California when I was fixing dinner for my brother’s family and a few friends. I had gone to the market looking for fish—thinking I’d experiment with some West Coast varieties—but was so impressed by all the vegetables that I wanted to cook something that used as many of them as possible.

This soup is time-consuming to prepare because instead of throwing all the vegetables into one big pot you cook them all separately. The

Ingredients

Americas
United States
Dinner
Lunch
Starter
Main course
Gluten-free
Soup
California
Summer

Ingredients

Method