Pasta and Potato Soup

Ingredients

• 320 g Mixed short pasta
• 600 g Potato
• 200 g Smoked provola cheese
• 1 Onion
• 1 stalk Celery
• 1 Carrot
• 40 g Parmesan cheese
• 1 Parmesan rind
• 3 tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 pinch Black pepper

Steps

1. Finely chop the onion, celery and carrot.
2. Warm the olive oil in a heavy pot over medium-low heat and sweat the vegetables gently for about 8 minutes, until soft and translucent but not coloured.
3. Peel the potatoes and cut into small cubes of about 1.5 cm.
4. Add them to the pot with a pinch of salt and stir for 2 to 3 minutes to coat them in the soffritto.
5. Pour in just enough hot water (or light broth) to barely cover the potatoes.
6. Tuck in the parmesan rind, and simmer for about 10 minutes until the potatoes start to break at the edges.
7. Mash a few potato cubes against the side of the pot to release their starch.
8. Add the mixed short pasta directly into the soup, stirring well.
9. Cook the pasta risotto-style, stirring often and adding a ladle of hot water whenever it gets too dry, for about 12 to 14 minutes until the pasta is al dente and the soup is thick and creamy.
10. Cut the smoked provola into small cubes.
11. Turn off the heat, remove the parmesan rind, then stir in the grated parmesan and a grind of black pepper.
12. Scatter the provola over the surface, cover the pot and let it sit for 2 minutes so the cheese melts into stretchy strings.
13. Stir gently once to ribbon the provola through.
14. Adjust the salt, and serve hot with a drizzle of olive oil and extra black pepper.