This soup is an ode to the joy of discovering the charms of an herb I use abundantly as a fresh one, but never thought of as a flavorful cooked ingredient: cilantro. It takes on a character I have a hard time explaining but am downright smitten with! I recently created a filling for a roulade for the SF potluck which incorporated many of the ingredients in this dish. When I found young slender fennel stalks this week I knew where to take that foundation and make something wonderful for a spring soup. Swiss chard is ideal here, but tender collards that are still benefiting from the cool spring will work nicely too, but may need longer simmering time. Because greens always benefit from some acid, I thought the preserved lemon topping would do the trick better than some vinegar. Polenta croutons add another dimension to the soup, in aroma and fragrance, but aren't a requisite to appreciate the minestra alone. (About the pictures: I took the picture of poppies, parsley and other herbs but didn't want that to be the first picture and can't seem to change that. The other photos are my collards and the spring onion and garlic. Big learning curve for me!) - Amber Olson

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