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.

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!