Pasta e Patate (Pasta and Potato Soup) Recipe (2024)

I made this today with WATER and without the pancetta I didn’t have pancetta on hand. I added a bit more olive oil to make up for it. It was DELICIOUS!!! I used orzo instead of spaghetti. It was way better than such humble ingredients would suggest. I can’t wait to try it again with pancetta.

The recipe specifically says not to use chicken broth, but you do you.

As the author’s intro says, “Avoid the temptation to use chicken or vegetable broth instead of water, and be assured that the pancetta, Parmesan rind, olive oil and starchy potatoes all add ample flavor and body to the humble soup.” It isn’t chicken flavored soup. I want to get the full effect of the pancetta and Parmesan.

For a meatless option, we browned shiitakes in olive oil and added a splash of tamari at the end. Added to the pot in step 1.

This is the ultimate comfort soup with both potato and pasta. Wasn’t sure about the directions to use only water and not broth but decided to give it a whirl and the results were amazing. I did double the pancetta to 4oz - but think just 2oz would have sufficed. And the amazing thing about the soup is that adding more water to reward it does not dilute the flavor. Will definitely be making again and again!

Dried porcini mushrooms would add a lot of savory, I imagine you could infuse the parmesan rind with smoke in the same way you would make smoked salt or cheese (if you want to get that involved).

I made this last night and my chef husband couldn’t believe how good it was. I pan seared prosciutto because that’s what I had. We have large bag of parmesan rinds in our freezer from our restaurant, so used a double what the recipe called for. I added a little red wine vinegar and peri peri sauce to balance the richness. It’s the perfect autumn supper.

Where does it say that chicken broth was used? I read 6 cups water.

This was delicious. I did use veggie broth despite the note but it’s not necessary. We also had to replace rosemary with tarragon because it’s what we had fresh on hand - it was spectacular. Finally, I used fresh whole wheat pasta noodles, and that was also wonderful. All around wonderful and will be in the regular rotation this fall and winter.

Asian soups often have long noodles in soup. If you don't like long noodles in your soup, use alphabet pasta or stars. It really nothing to be "concerned" about.

My family has been making this almost precisely the same with the exception of cauliflower in place of potatoes. It’s our paramount family dish!

Different brands and types of salt have varying levels of "saltiness." By specifying what the recipe author used, cooks at home can use the same salt or convert to their own preferred salt. That way, 25% of the comments won't be complaining about too much salt or too little salt.

suggest that the cheese rind be tied into a piece of cheese cloth. (Mine disintegrated into an oozy stringy rubber piece)

Last night we had dinner at a casual Neapolitan restaurant in Los Angeles. The owner was so excited when I ordered the pasta e patate! It was exactly like this recipe, except not a soup. The sauce was thick from potato starch, pasta water and pecorino. Delicious! It was served in a stainless steel bowl with a fitted grater lid and a hunk of cheese. This is a very traditional dish, not meant to be "upgraded" with chicken stock or other proteins. Try it before you tweak it!

Before adding water in Step 2, I add a healthy 'glug' of Italian white wine (in my case a Pecorino from Sardinia) to deglaze and to make nice reduction.

Added already cooked leftover Spaghetti, tarragon sprig, mushrooms and subbed green onions for the regular onion. Came out fine though still needed salt. Maybe next time decrease the oil to 1/4 cup

I kept the pancetta whole and scooped it out before serving as no one here enjoys it. The flavors were fantastic but the texture was off putting. The vegetables were mushy and the broth starchy but not thick, and the chewy pasta just didn’t sit right for us. Next time will bring this off the heat dinner while veggies are still fresh or reserve them to add near the end.

Suggest browning the pancetta before adding vegetables

I have been making this for 50 plus years. Learned from my mom. I use a large can of tomato sauce diluted with water, cook potatoes in the sauce then add cooked pasta shells. Season with salt and pepper and serve with a crusty bread and yum!

Last night we had dinner at a casual Neapolitan restaurant in Los Angeles. The owner was so excited when I ordered the pasta e patate! It was exactly like this recipe, except not a soup. The sauce was thick from potato starch, pasta water and pecorino. Delicious! It was served in a stainless steel bowl with a fitted grater lid and a hunk of cheese. This is a very traditional dish, not meant to be "upgraded" with chicken stock or other proteins. Try it before you tweak it!

I have made this at least 4 times and it always turns about amazing. Super simple and requires few ingredients. Make this !!

This is so flavorful, comforting and filling! If you’re wondering about the water instead of broth, don’t—there are many Italian soups that call for water, water lets the ingredients flavor the broth, if you add broth I think you miss out a bit. The first time I made this I used hickory smoked bacon because it’s what I had. It turned out great so I’ve continued with that.

This is a favorite recipe around our house. My son refers to if as the 4P soup. As we make it so frequently I often don’t have a Parmesan rind. I throw a handful of grated Parmesan at the end and it is still as delicious. The soup does soak all the liquid when stored but adding additional water with some seasoning makes it just as good.

I made this tonight. it was delicious and filling. The broth is amazing. I subbed a link of chorizo for the pancetta and fresh thyme for the rosemary. Threw some spinach in at the end and a little crushed red pepper. Easily adapted to what one has on hand. A perfect soup for a cold winter night.

Is the bacon supposed to be cooked prior?

I trusted the recipe and added raw bacon to sautéed with the veggies. I should have went with my gut instinct to cook the bacon first. Other than that it was a good heartwarming and comforting soup that I enjoyed tremendously. Next time I will add shredded chicken for more substance.

1. Chop onion2. Chop carrot3. Chop celery4. Chop garlic, all in same bowl, add pancetta too5. Measure pasta6. While veggies cook, peel/dice potatoes

Not bad. Needs to sit for more flavor

This was absolutely delicious and very easy! We have a vegetarian in the house so I left off the pancetta but cooked some turkey bacon on the side (we didn’t have pancetta) and added it crumbled on top for those of us who eat meat. Delish! Also? I didn’t have spaghetti so used the pasta we had- rigate- and that worked great- especially b/c the cut of the pasta allowed for lots of soup pooling in the hollow pasta bowl and that was a yummy bonus. Will definitely make again and often.