Week 8: Your favourite Italian detox soup

Ciao Tutti!

Look at this AMAZING soup! This is precisely what you need to eat to cleanse your body from the carbs you have consumed. My Nonna and Nonno used to grow this kind of Sicilian squash (Cucuzza) in their backyard. It's probably the largest zucchini squash you will ever see in your life.

my nonno manually pollinated the zucchini flowers to ensure good harvest (aka. "kiss" the zucchini leaves)

Once we harvested the zucchini's, we would cook them into many different recipes - including this one! Traditionally, this soup is made with Sicilian squash and leaves, but we had to improvise. Instead, we used Oka squash and swiss chard.

Rich in colour and flavour, this soup will leave you feeling cleansed and refreshed from all the pasta we've been cooking and eating.

Let me know if you try this recipe!

Ingredienti

• 1 Oka squash

• 1 1/2 cups of swiss chard

• 4 cups of water

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• spaghetti (broken into 1.5 inch pieces)

• 1/3 cup canned tomatoes

• 2 garlic cloves

• salt

• pepper

Ricetta

Boil a large pot of water.

While waiting for the water to boil, slice the zucchini in half. Slice each half in half (lengthwise) and peel. Cut into bite-sized pieces. Rinse the swiss chard and tear it into small pieces.

Add the zucchini and swiss chard to the boiling water. Cook it until the zucchini is soft. Once the zucchini has softened, add in the pasta. Cook the pasta until it is al dente, about 8 minutes.

In a separate saucepan, combine olive oil and 2 garlic cloves. Sauté the garlic at medium-low heat until golden brown and sizzling. Stir in the canned tomatoes. Bring the tomatoes to a low simmer for about 4-5 minutes.

After removing the garlic cloves, stir the tomatoes in to the zucchini, Swiss chard, and pasta mixture. Stir and serve hot.

Buon Appetito!

GET IN TOUCH:

Let me know if you try these recipes and how you enjoy them. Or, if you have your own twist on these classic Sicilian dishes, leave a comment below, and I will be sure to try them!

And be sure to send me pictures of you making these recipes on Instagram @ciao.tuttii or Twitter @crismackenziee :)

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