Kusksu - Broad Bean Soup

Kusksu is a typical Maltese summer dish using up fresh seasonal ingredients like broad beans. It takes me down memory lane where my brother and I used to help mum peel off the beans from both it's outer layers to reveal the sweet green flesh of the beans. You can just remove one outer layer of the bean as long as you remove the top bit of the bean that looks like a nail as this will come off through cooking and will not look great in your final dish.

Ingredients ( serves 4)

1 onion ( any type)

2 garlic cloves

1 small cauliflower

250g broad beans ( both skins removed)

250g Ricotta

2 eggs

1tablespoon tomatoe purée 

1 litre vegetable stock

250g small pasta ( for this recipe orecchiette was used, but any small shaped pasta will do)

2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and pepper to season

Finely chop the onion and garlic. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan. Add the onions and cook slightly, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and tomato paste. If the mixture dries out add few tablespoons of stock. Chop the cauliflower into small chunks and add to the mixture. Add the broad beans (fresh or frozen beans can be used). Add the remainder of the stock and bring to the boil. Simmer gently for about 20 minutes stirring occasionally. Once the vegetables have been cooked, turn the heat down to low and add the pasta. Season to taste. The pasta will cook in the stock and thicken the dish. This should not take more than 10- 12 minutes. Once the pasta is cooked, beat up two eggs and add them to the dish. Add the ricotta and the Parmesan cheese to the mixture and turn off the heat. Check the seasoning and leave to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Serve with some toasted crusty bread on the side for a hearty, warming meal !