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Pasta e patate
Naples' creamy one-pot pasta with potatoes (and optional provola)
Pasta e patate is Neapolitan home cooking at its most thrifty: potatoes and mixed broken pasta (pasta mista, the odds and ends from many packets) cooked together in one pot like a risotto, until the potato breaks down and the starch makes everything creamy. Naples families eat it on weekday evenings in winter, and many stir in cubes of smoked provola at the end so it goes stringy (pasta patate e provola). Children love it. Chef's tip: cut half the potato small and half larger; the small pieces melt into the sauce while the larger ones keep their shape.
- Total time
- 40 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Warm 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil in a heavy pot over a medium heat. Add 1 onion, 1 stick celery and 1 carrot and cook for 8 minutes, stirring, until soft and sweet but not browned.
8 minStep 2: Stir in 1 tbsp tomato paste and cook for 1 minute until it darkens slightly.
1 minStep 3: Add 1 ⅓ lb floury potatoes and stir to coat. Pour in 800 ml of 3 ½ cups hot water, add 1 tsp salt and simmer with the lid half on for 12 minutes, until the small cubes are falling apart and the large ones are just tender.
12 minStep 4: Mash some of the potato against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon. Add 9 oz mixed short pasta and cook, stirring often like a risotto, for 10–12 minutes, adding the rest of 1 ½ cups hot water as it thickens. Common mistake: walking away; the starch catches on the bottom of the pot within a minute.
11 minStep 5: When the pasta is al dente and the pot looks creamy and loose (it thickens as it stands), take it off the heat. Stir in 1 ⅜ oz Parmigiano Reggiano, ½ tsp black pepper and 3 ½ oz smoked provola or scamorza if using, and ¼ tsp dried chilli flakes if you like heat.
Step 6: Cover and leave for 2 minutes so the provola melts, then serve in warm bowls with a thread of olive oil.
2 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 470 kcal
- Protein
- 15 g
- Carbs
- 72 g
- Fat
- 14 g
- Fibre
- 6 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does pasta e patate take?
- About 40 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of celery?
- Fennel bulb, same weight.
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