Zuppa di Verdure a Foglia -- Leafy Vegetable Soup with Spinach Gremulata

Instructions

Heat 1 tablespoon Olive Oil in a small pot over medium heat. Add onion and season with salt and pepper.
Cook, stirring occasionally until softened, about 5 minutes. Add thinly sliced garlic to pot. Cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Add broth, potatoes, escarole and 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium. Summer soup until potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife, about 10 minutes. Add
Swiss chard to pot and cook for 5 minutes . Stir in 3 cups of spinach and 2 teaspoons lemon juice. Stir until
spinach is wilted. Meanwhile, chop the remaining 1 cup of spinach, place in a small bowl. Add lemon zest,
finely grated garlic clove and the remaining 1 tablespoon of Olive Oil. Toss to coat and mix fully. Season spinach gremulata to taste with salt, pepper and more lemon juice if desired. Season soup with salt and
pepper. Divide among bowls and mound spinach gremulata on top of soup in bowls. Garnish the gremulata with pignoli or pine nuts.

Author's Comments

This is a great soup! Full of flavor. I loved escarole as a kid and still do. Mixed in this soup with Swiss
chard and spinach makes it all the better. Serve it with a bunch of crust Italian bread and maybe a small
veal cutlet or a couple of links of Italian sausage and you have one hell of a meal. That is how we ate it
when I was growing up in New York City. It was made quickly, did not need to simmer for hours on end
and Mom could throw it together quickly when she got home from work. In fact, the sausage or cutlet
almost took longer than the soup!