Tuscan spring soup satisfies without being heavy

SOUP season in Tuscany doesn’t end once spring begins, but it does mean the soups start to take a different tone.

Garmugia, for example, a specialty of the city of Lucca, bridges the seasons by marrying a hearty backbone of pancetta, meat stock, and ground beef or veal with freshly picked artichokes, peas, fava beans and asparagus — the first tender vegetables of spring. Like the season itself, garmugia bursts with contrasts, at once tender and bold, simultaneously lushly green yet robust and meaty.

Thought to have originated during the Renaissance era, garmugia was feast-worthy fare for the rich and powerful. Most Tuscan soups artfully repurpose scraps, but only the finest ingredients go into garmugia, a pairing of pricey meats and the season’s freshest vegetables.

For the garmugia-inspired soup from our book “Tuesday Nights Mediterranean,” which features weeknight-friendly meals from the region, we pared down on the meat but use