Cucina povera touches my heart because it highlights what I love most about home cooks—a unique ability to make something from almost nothing. Pesto from weeds. Pasta from flour sweepings. And, of course, soup from nothing.

Romania, especially Transylvania, just north of the Carpathian mountains, is the center of culinary make-do. In a landscape similar to Vermont, and with almost every home having a garden, I was shown more than a few root cellars, which reminded me of my summers on a dairy farm long ago. I came across other simple povera recipes on my trip, including cooked shredded cabbage and noodles, easily adaptable ciorbă soups (with a touch of fermented liquid at the end), polenta casseroles and many versions of fried bread, including doughnuts.

This recipe, caraway soup, is the perfect rendition of soup from nothing and was taught to me by Oana Udrea, chef at Meșendorf 65. Like most properties in Transylvania, Oana’s acreage is narrow but deep, in this case running up to a steep hill. Much of the land is garden and Oana keeps chickens as well. Inside, the house has a narrow pale yellow tile stove, similar to what you would find in Austria.

At the center of Oana’s soup is a light broth made of toasted caraway seeds and water. For foundational flavor, she adds onion, garlic and paprika. For thickening, she uses flour. Oddly enough, caraway is a genius flavor for broth; it is not shy, yet it does not overpower. (She uses 3 tablespoons of caraway with 2 quarts water.)

Even more brilliant are two additions that complete the meal. Oana made a smoked walnut and radish green pesto of sorts, which she spooned over the broth to add bold flavor. She also made spiced cheese biscuits (form the dough into a log, cut rounds and bake them) to serve on the side. The combination—caraway broth, gutsy pesto and cheesy biscuits—was the perfect trio and as far away from “nothing” as I can imagine.

Back at Milk Street, we pretty much followed Oana’s recipe, but when it came to the pesto, we used parsley, walnuts and Parmesan. The cheese biscuits are a great, but optional, addition, although I have found them to be an excellent stand-alone recipe, perfect with a glass of wine.

So, now, when someone says there’s nothing for dinner, reply, “How about Nothing Soup?”

Christopher Kimball

Christopher Kimball is founder of Milk Street, which produces Milk Street Magazine, Milk Street Television on PBS, and the weekly public radio show Milk Street Radio. He founded Cook’s Magazine in 1980 and was host and executive producer of America’s Test Kitchen until 2016. Kimball is the author of several books, including "The Yellow Farmhouse" and "Fannie’s Last Supper."