Pasta Al Brodo – A Quick One
Even if there’s nothing Romanian about it, seems like Pasta Al Brodo became a Sunday lunch tradition on our household.
Maybe because it is so simple to put it together, or sparks a digestive memory of a two-course traditional Romanian home made meal on Sundays, where chicken soup with egg-noodles of some sort was always on the menu – or who knows why and not important. The point is that you can make Pasta Al Brodo in 20 minutes and have a 5-star restaurant result.
Of course the secret ingredient that secures success is a good quality home made chicken broth. More on that in another post.
Pasta Al Brodo
As chicken broth is always in the making in the kitchen, I never buy canned version. Why should I, when making broth can be so deliciously simple. Just make sure you have a good brand free range whole chicken, and use the bones, etc., from whatever is left of what you planned. I will detail my rigorous tradition in broth making later (after all I am from Eastern Europe and I don’t like adventure in this particular broth recipe).
Supposing you have the broth, here are the other ingredients you need:
10 cups homemade chicken broth
7 ounces Farfalle or other small shaped pasta
1 large carrot, diced
1 cup green peas
1⁄2 red pepper, membrane, seeds and skin removed, diced
Salt and pepper (freshly ground)
1⁄2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano for garnish
Over high heat, ring the chicken stock to a boil in a large pot. Reduce to medium head and add the diced vegetables.
Note:
Certain recipes call for adding the pasta and the vegetables together. I found that if you do that, your vegetables (specially the carrots) will still be undercooked by the time the pasta is just right (al dente). Or the other way around – if you boil it long enough to have your carrots tender, your pasta will be too mushy. So, I add the vegetable first and let them boil for about 10 minutes before I add the pasta.
Once the pasta is added, I just monitor it constantly since I want it al dente. Presto! You are done. Ladle it in bowls and grate some Parmiggiano Reggianno on it with some chopped parsley.
Voila — I meant Buon Appetito!
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April 24th, 2009 22:22
Yum! This looks great!
I have to admit, when I make this kind of thing, I usually go waaaaaay overboard on the carrots. Love carrots in chicken noodle-y soup like this.
xo
+Jessie
April 25th, 2009 09:06
Hey Jessie –
Thanks! I dig the carrots in this soup also because of my Hungarian heritage and her chicken soup.
But now I am immersed in Italian culture (due to my wife’s family), and there has to be an EXACT balance of carrots!
Gabi.
April 29th, 2009 07:39
This is one of my family’s favourite soups at home. There’s something comforting about pasta al brodo. I usually cook the pasta separately and then I add it to the brodo.
Great recipe!
May 5th, 2009 10:50
What a comforting bowl of soup…reminds me of my grandparents (who are Sicilian)…thank you for visiting my blog!!
May 8th, 2009 13:51
Lovely, just lovely! And as for chicken broth, we never buy it either as the store-bought versions always have way too much salt added. Nice new look to the blog too! Good to see you posting again.