Widow'S Soup (Soppa Tal-Armla) - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, sliced
4 stalks celery (Maltese celery if you have it, karfus)
3 carrots, chopped
1/2 cabbage, shredded
1/2 cauliflower, chopped into florets
1/2 cup broad bean (replace with peas if you don't have broad beans)
3 potatoes, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1 kohlrabi, chopped (optional)
2 vegetable bouillon cubes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
8 cups water (or enough to cover all the vegetables)
8 tablespoons ricotta cheese, firm (or 4 ?bejniet from Malta) (optional)
4 eggs (optional)
2 tablespoons olive oil, for frying

Preparation

Into a large pot add the olive oil and saute the garlic and onion for 5 minutes or until starting to soften.
Add the celery, carrots and saute for a further five minutes.
Add the cabbage, cauliflower, broad beans (if adding peas only add in the last 15 minutes) and potatoes and zucchini and saute all vegetables for ten more minutes.
Add tomatoes, tomato paste and crushed stock cubes, and gently stir.
Add enough water to fill up to 3/4 of the pot and make sure that the vegetables have been covered.
Bring to the boil and then simmer for 45 minutes.
Add the gbejniet or ricotta and cook for a further 15 minutes.
If you are also adding eggs, gently crack and add on top in the last remaining ten minutes.
Serve warm.