Name: Minestra di Pasta e Patate (Pasta and Potato Soup)
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: salt and pepper; 75 g (3 oz) sweet onion; 50 g (2 oz) smoked pancetta or smoked streaky bacon, in a single slice; a bunch of flat-leaf parsley; ½ small carrot; 150 g (5 oz) small pasta shapes; 500 g (1 lb) waxy potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 cm (½-inch) cubes; ½ small celery stalk; 2 teaspoons tomato purée; 3 tablespoons olive oil; 1.5 litres (2½ pints) vegetable stock; grated parmesan cheese, to serve

Preparation info

Serves
6

Difficulty
Easy
Ready in
1 hr 5

Appears in

Pasta-lover's Cookbook

By Anna Del Conte

Published 1994

About

The most suitable shapes of pasta for this kind of soup are small ones, such as pennette or ditalini. It is a very thick soup.

Ingredients

50 g (2 oz) smoked pancetta or smoked streaky bacon, in a single slice
½ small carrot

Method

Chop the first five ingredients together very finely. (A food processor would be ideal for this.) In Italian this is called a battuto – pounded mixture – and the ingredients must be chopped so finely as to appear ground up together.
Heat the oil, add the battuto and fry gently for 5 to 7 minutes. Throw in the potatoes and continue cooking for 2 to 3