Minestre

Given the mystique of the curative powers of chicken soup and the idealized image of the Jewish mother forever offering a steaming bowl at the first sign of stress or illness, it is surprising that the written repertoire of Italian soup recipes is not more extensive. I suspect that because the serving of soup was such an everyday occurrence, many recipes were not transcribed. I have found soup recipes made with artichokes or asparagus but surprisingly none for eggplant, fennel, or butternut squash and pumpkin, vegetables much beloved by the Jews and used by them in so many other dishes.