Pasta e Patate, Neapolitan Potato and Pasta Pot
Pasta e patate is Naples in a pot, the kind of dish built from what was in the house: potatoes, a handful of mixed pasta, a soffritto, and time. What makes it more than the sum of those things is technique. The potatoes are cooked until some collapse, and the pasta is finished in the same pot so both give up their starch and thicken the bowl to a near-creamy density, the texture Neapolitans call azzeccata, sticky and dense. Whole wheat short shapes hold their bite through the long simmer where refined pasta would dissolve. A rind of parmesan usually carries the savory depth; nutritional yeast does it here without dairy or salt. Serve it thick enough to stand a spoon in.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 lb Potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
- 1 cup Whole wheat short pasta, small shapes
- 1 whole Yellow onions, finely diced
- 1 stalk Celery, finely diced
- 1 whole Carrots, finely diced
- 2 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp Tomato paste
- 1/2 cup Canned crushed tomatoes
- 1 whole Bay leaves
- 1/2 tsp Dried rosemary
- 3 tbsp Nutritional yeast
- 3 tbsp Flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 1/2 tsp Black peppercorns, freshly ground
Method
- Sweat the onion, celery, and carrot in 0.25 cup (60 ml) water in a heavy pot over medium heat until soft, about 10 minutes, then add the garlic and cook one minute more. This soffritto, cooked in water instead of oil, is the savory floor the whole pot stands on.
- Stir in the tomato paste and cook it for 2 minutes until it darkens, then add the crushed tomatoes, potatoes, bay leaf, rosemary, and 3.5 cups (830 ml) water. Toasting the paste first pulls a deeper, sweeter tomato flavor out of it than adding it raw.
- Simmer, partly covered, until the potatoes are very soft and starting to fall apart, about 20 minutes. Mash a few cubes against the side of the pot. Those broken potatoes release starch that thickens the broth to a silky body, which is the point of the dish and why it needs no cream.
- Add the pasta and cook it directly in the pot, stirring often and adding a splash of hot water if it gets too thick, until the pasta is tender, about 10 minutes. Cooking the pasta in the soup, not in a separate pot, means it releases its starch here and the bowl turns creamy rather than brothy.
- Off the heat, stir in the nutritional yeast, parsley, and black pepper. The yeast brings the savory, cheesy note a rind of parmesan traditionally gives, doing the work of salt. Let it sit 5 minutes, then serve thick in bowls.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 270 calories, 9 g protein, 7 g fiber, 90 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
