Summer soup? A special at Sapori Trattoria Italiana in Collingswood is an ode to fresh produce.

Franco Lombardo and his mamma, Rosa Prestigiacomo, used to argue about the dish. What exactly should they call the bowl of broken linguine and fresh vegetables splashed with broth that he grew up eating during the summers of his Palermo youth?

“My mother would say, ‘It’s a pasta!’ I’d say, ‘No! It’s a soup!’ So, we finally agreed: it’s summer soup!”

The dish now called Pasta Rustica that’s served often as a special at Lombardo’s Sapori Trattoria Italiana in Collingswood is a hybrid, with pasta cooked and served to order, then floated with seasonal produce in a pool of broth just shallow enough to keep it moist. It’s exactly the kind of soulful, homestyle special that has distinguished Sapori over its charming 19 years from the abbondanza of cookie-cutter Italian kitchens elsewhere across the region (not to mention Collingswood). His hearty stew of sausage and country ribs is another gem not to be missed.

What is clear about Pasta Rustica is that it’s easily adaptable to beautifully showcase the freshest produce of the moment — sweet peas and artichokes during our early summer visit — which simmer in broth only as long as it takes to cook the linguine al dente. As summer progresses, Lombardo subs out the peas for other pulses, like fresh Borlotti or cranberry beans, Umbrian lentils, fresh favas, or green chickpeas.

“This dish is more of a technique than a recipe. I usually don’t really measure anything. But I know what it should taste like and can reproduce that flavor,” says Lombardo, 46, who arrived in Philadelphia at age 20 and cooked at La Locanda del Ghiottone before launching his own place. “Cooking this dish reminds me of a stage of my life in Italy, and mamma, too.”

One constant is a savory chicken broth enriched with olive oil and smoked pancetta, as well as a soffrito base of carrots, onions, and celery. But also the broken linguine. That may sound like heresy to a pasta purist who believes pasta shapes must not be fussed with. But it is essential to the functionality of this dish.

“(The pasta) has to be a certain size — about an inch long — because you want to be able to eat them with a spoon. It also has to a dried pasta, because its starch thickens the broth while it cooks,” he said. “That was my job as a kid whenever my mother and grandmother, Ninnina, made these legumes in season. They’d say: ‘Here’s a kilo of pasta. Start breaking them, kid!’”

And with that — crack! snap! simmer! — another season’s batch of “summer soup” had begun.

Sapori Trattoria Italiana, 601 Haddon Ave., Collingswood; 856-858-2288

Makes 4 servings

6 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup (about 8 oz.) cubed smoked pancetta (bacon or guanciale)

1 small Spanish onion, diced

3 small carrots, finely diced

1 rib of celery, finely diced

4-6 long stemmed Italian artichokes in olive oil (preferably not brined; rinse if they are); fresh artichokes are even better, if available, trimmed to the hearts with a couple inches of peeled stems left, quartered)

6½ cups (1.5 liters) chicken stock

1 cup fresh peas (or Borlotti beans, cranberry beans, green chickpeas, fresh favas, or Umbrian lentils)

1 Yukon gold potato, diced, optional if using lentils

1 tablespoon fresh thyme, picked from the stems

1 pound linguine, broken into one-inch segments

Warm the olive oil in a soup pot over low to medium heat. In a separate pot, warm the stock. Add the pancetta into the oil and let it render for about 5 minutes. Add the onions, carrots, and celery and let it cook with lid on until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.

Once vegetables are tender, add two-thirds of the stock and bring to a simmer. Add the artichokes, thyme, and peas, and simmer on low with lid on for 15 minutes (25 minutes for fresh cranberry or Borlotti beans).

Remove lid, add more stock, and bring to a boil. Add the pasta. There should be enough broth that all the ingredients are covered by about one inch of liquid. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook for about 8 minutes, or until linguine is al dente, then serve with pasta and vegetables in a bowl, with just a little broth.

Notes on some variations: If using fresh beans in season there is no need to presoak. Dried beans must be presoaked overnight. Umbrian lentils do not need to presoaked, but if using lentils, omit the artichokes, add 1 diced Yukon gold potato along with the lentils and simmer for 30 minutes. For the lentil variation, Lombardo also recommends replacing linguine with truffled pappardelle from La Fabbrica della Pasta (available at Claudio Specialty Foods.)