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1
Wash and drain the chard, and tear out the long stems from the leafy parts.
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2
Stack the leaves, and slice crosswise into 1-inch strips.
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3
Cut off the tough base of each stem, and discard.
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4
Chop the trimmed stems into 1/2-inch pieces.
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5
Using a food processor, mince the onion, celery, parsley, and basil into a fine-textured paste (pestata).
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6
Heat the oil in the saucepan over medium heat, scrape in the pestata, and stir it all around the pan as it starts to steam and sizzle.
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7
Sprinkle in the peperoncino and cook, stirring, until the pestata has dried and starts to stick, 4 minutes or so.
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8
Drop in the tomato paste, and stir to toast it for a minute.
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9
Pour in 9 cups water, raise the heat to high, and stir up all the cooked seasonings, while adding 2 teaspoons of salt and some freshly ground pepper to taste.
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10
Bring the water to the boil, and dump in all of the cut chard leaves and chopped stems.
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11
Return to the boil, cover partially, and cook at a steady simmer for about 40 minutes, until the chard is very tender and the broth is quite flavorful.
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12
Turn off the heat until youre ready to serve.
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13
Ladle about 1 1/3 cups of soup per serving into the skillet.
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14
Heat to a simmer; crack and carefully slip into the soup one egg for each serving.
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15
Turn the heat down very low, cover the skillet tightly, and poach the eggs for 2 minutes or longer.
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16
Put a bread slice or croutons in each warm soup bowl, and when the eggs are done as you like them, lift them out one at a time with a slotted spoon or spatula, taking some cooked greens too.
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17
Lay the egg and greens on the bread, and ladle in hot broth to cover.
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18
Sprinkle pecorino over the egg and broth, and serve immediately, passing more cheese at the table.
