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1
Set 6 cups of water to boil. Put 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in the bottom of a medium soup pot, and turn the heat to medium. Finely dice the ham, and add to the oil . Brown, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, while you prepare the garlic, onion and greens.
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2
Peel the garlic, and chop it roughly or leave it whole. Peel and chop onion. Wash and chop greens into bite-size pieces. Rinse once more than you think you need to.
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3
When the ham is browned, add the garlic, and cook, stirring occasionally, until it begins to color, about 2 minutes. Add the onions, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they become translucent, 2 or 3 minutes. Add the greens, and stir; then, add the 6 cups of boiling water. Stir in the pasta and a good sprinkling of salt and pepper; adjust heat so the mixture simmers.
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4
When the pasta has been going for about 5 minutes, add the diced parmesan rind. It will soften as the pasta cooks -- ideally, the pasta will be done just as the parmesan softens and surrenders its flavor, but before it disintegrates.
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5
(Optional) If you are actually serving this soup to Ben Roethlisberger, remove pasta from broth and thread a piece of chive through each piece of pasta, to create a suggestion of a chinstrap. If your guests are smart enough to wear helmets when they operate two wheeled vehicles, you may omit this tedious refinement.
