Cucuzza Soup
Sicilian summer recipes include some healthy hot soups. One of the main ingredients for some of these is a long shaped kind of courgette that we simply call cucuzza. We also use "tinniruma" (tenerumi), cucuzza's greens, in summer recipes.
You can find it in markets and even in supermarkets, but this time I got it from a friend's father in law who has a passion for gardening and made a fantastic vegetable garden to produce organic vegetables for its family.
His cucuzza was tender, seedless and sweet. First I made a soup, also know as "cucuzza a ministrina", with Gerratana onions and tomatoes, also courtesy of Mr. Barone.
Ingredients:
1 long cucuzza
1 onion (half onion if you are using the large Gerratana kind)
2 ripe tomatoes
2 stems of fresh oregano
2 spoons extra virgin olive oil
Peel the cucuzza and dice it into small cubes, slice the onion and dice also the tomatoes. Sautè the onion and tomatoes in e.v. olive oil in a terracotta pot, if you do not have one use a cast iron pot. Then add the cucuzza, a pinch of salt, a stem of fresh oregano. Cover with water and let it simmer gently until ready. Serve it with a dash of e.v. olive oil and sprinkle with fresh oregano.
The first night we had it as a soup, the following day, I cooked some pasta, added some grated cheese and turned it into a great dish of "pasta ca' cucuzza".
