cucuzza - Italian Squash Soup

Olivia 2 1/2 yrs old. Help picking the veggies.

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                                                          Sauce: 2 - 32 oz Nonna Fina or Marinara Sauce                            (under Sauce recipes in this blog)

• 1 can of Tuttorosso whole tomatoes. Cut ends off and throw out. Then cut the rest up into chunks.
• Cucuzza leaves (Tenerumi) 25 - 30. or Fresh baby Spinach leaves. 
• 8 cups of water
• 2 long Cucuzza
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/4 tsp Pepper and 1/2 tsp garlic powder
•  1/2 cup grated cheese.
• 1 cup cut up into small chunks (pieces) of Romano cheese.         (It's the grated cheese before you grate it.)
• cooked and cooled off - strained aldente pasta.

Cucuzza and leaves of the plant

1.  Pick the leaves from the cucuzza plant. Pick the small green ones approx. 25 - 30 leaves for 2  cucuzzas.  Must be fresh looking not old  or yellow.  
                                                                                                                    2.  Defrost 2 - 32 oz of marinara sauce or Nonna Fina sauce (recommended). Leave on side.

3.  In a large deep sauce pot add 8 cups of water and bring to  boil.      

                                                                                                           4.  Cut off stem on leaves and Chop up the leaves into small pieces. Place into boiling water with 2 tsp salt. Cook for about 20 minutes.


5.  Cut the Cucuzza into smaller pieces (as long as a cucumber) so it will be easier to peel them.
                                                               

6.    Peel cucuzza (just like you peel a cucumber) Peel until you see the white skin and not green. Most likely you need to peel the same side twice.                                             

7.  Cut Length wise. Scoop or cut out center if there are seeds.  As above the seeds are too big and if you leave them in there the soup will be all full of seeds.



8.  Cut into Chunks. 1" x 1" thumb size chunks. Place into pot. 

                                                                                    

9. Add pepper and garlic.

10.  Add 2 containers of Nonna Fina Sauce or marinara sauce.                                                                     

11.  Add chopped cup tuttorosso whole tomatoes. (cut into chunks).



Not cooked yet.



It's Cooked when it is soft and transulcent.

 12.  Keep on med high a Boiling temp. until cucuzza is done. Approx.  30 - 40 min.  Remove from  heat. .                                     

13.   Then add cooled off 1 box of cooked Cut Spaghetti or Italiano Pasta. (you cool off the pasta so that the water actually washes off the starch otherwise when you put it into the soup it dries it out. )  




14. Add in the chunks of romano cheese.



Ready to eat!!

Finally, found something I could use the old swing set for.

Cucuzza grows quickly from one day to the next. Don't let it get too long and big, because there will be many seeds in it and then you have to scoop that out.

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