Neapolitan Pork and Vegetable Soup (Naples)

Soups

Ingredients

Italian Pork Sausages - 1/4 pound

Bacon - 1/4 pound

Ham bone - 1

Pork Skin - 1/4 pound

Salt

Onion - 1

Celery - 1 stalk

Cabbage - 1 small

Belgian endives - 1 pound

Escarole - 1/2 pound

Olive oil - 2 1/2 tbsps

Fat salt pork, finely chopped - 4 tbsps

Garlic, finely chopped - 1 clove

Chicken stock - 8 1/2 cups

Grated parmesan cheese 

Bring the sausage, bacon, ham bone and pork skin to a boil in plenty of lightly salted water. Add the onion, celery and carrot, cover the pan and simmer gently. As soon as the meats are cooked, take them from the pan and keep them hot in a little of the cooking liquid.

Wash the cabbage, discard any coarse leaves and cut the remaining leaves in half. Wash the endives and escarole and quarter them lengthwise. Scald the cabbage, endive and escarole in boiling salted water. Drain and squeeze dry.

In a small frying pan, heat the oil and saute the salt pork and garlic. Do not let the garlic brown. Pour the oil mixture into the green vegetables.

Heat the chicken stock. Cut the meat and green vegetables into small pieces and add them to the stock. Simmer very slowly for 2 hours. By this time, the soup will be thick and most of the stock will have been cooked away. Serve hot, accompanied by a bowl of grated parmesan.

Serves 6