About the Recipe
Garmugia is a historic spring soup originating from the city of Lucca in Tuscany. Its first recorded recipe appears in the 17th-century cookbook "L'arte di ben cucinare" by Bartolomeo Stefani. The soup is defined by a specific combination of seasonal vegetables: artichokes, fresh fava beans, asparagus, peas, and often including ground veal or beef. It is traditionally served by ladling the thick vegetable and meat stew over slices of toasted or stale bread placed in the bowl. It is served as a substantial first course (primo piatto) celebrating the early spring harvest. This is a vegetarian version of the recipe.
Ingredients
2 spring onions
Extra virgin olive oil
50 g (1 ¾ oz) of pancetta
150 g (5 ¼ oz) of ground beef
120 g (about 1 cup) of shelled fava beans
100 g (about 1 cup) of shelled peas
100 g of asparagus, about 10 asparagus
4 artichokes
1 liter of vegetable broth
4 slices of stale bread
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
Step 1
Start with the vegetables, so that they will be ready when you must add them into the soup. Shell the fava beans and the peas and cut the asparagus into thin rounds, leaving the tips whole. Clean the artichokes and slice them thinly, brushing them with some lemon juice to prevent them from turning black. Slice the spring onions thinly, including the green part.
Step 2
Collect the spring onions in a large saucepan with a few tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and the pancetta, cut into strips. Sauté the onions for a few minutes, then add the minced meat. Stir with a wooden spoon to break it into small crumbs and to cook it evenly. When the meat begins to sizzle, add all the vegetables, stir thoroughly and cover them with the warm broth. Season with salt and pepper and cook over medium-low heat, covered, for about half an hour, until the vegetables are tender but not mushy.
Step 3
Meanwhile cut the stale bread into cubes and toast it in a pan with a drizzle of olive oil. Serve the garmugia with the toasted croutons, ending with a drizzle of your best extra virgin olive oil.