Pasta e patate (pasta with potatoes) is a simple but extremely popular dish from traditional Neapolitan cuisine – Naples is the capital of the Campania region in southern Italy and well worth a visit. This dish belongs to the so-called cucina povera, or ‘poor man’s cuisine’, which is characterised by the use of simple, inexpensive and easily accessible ingredients that are often sourced locally.
Pasta e patate is also a one-pot dish because the pasta is cooked together with potatoes (such dishes are also called ‘pasta risottata’, here is another example).
The result is a creamy, risotto-like consistency in which the starch from the potatoes and pasta makes the dish wonderfully creamy.
The so-called “pasta e patate con la provola” has become fashionable: smoked provolone cheese, which melts very well, adds a lot of umami to this rustic dish. However, this is a very fatty and therefore heavy preparation, so we prefer to keep it puristic.
Another speciality is ‘pasta mista’, which is often used for this dish. This is mixed pasta leftovers of different varieties. This mixture is even sold pre-packaged in Naples. However, the dish can just as easily be prepared with other short pasta varieties and we like to use Pantacce Toscane, a flat, short shape with a wavy edge.
You also need some olive oil and a little fatty bacon (lardo, guanciale or pancetta), onion, carrot, celery and, of course, potatoes. The bacon and vegetables are finely diced. However, this is a rustic dish, so don’t overdo it with the precision.
It is seasoned with salt, pepper, rosemary, a little tomato concentrate and a piece of Parmesan rind. We never throw away the rind of Parmesan cheese that has been used up; it can be stored in an airtight box in the fridge for almost forever and is an umami bomb. It is cooked with the dish, releases its flavour and is then removed again (but you can only use it once).
Depending on taste, fresh chilli or dried chilli pepper can be added for heat. We remove the seeds from a fresh chilli and cook it with the dish for a while. Garlic also harmonises well, we would also cook a whole clove and then remove it.
Fry bacon in a little olive oil over a medium-high heat until it takes on a delicate colour. Add the diced vegetables, tomato concentrate and rosemary. Mix everything together and sauté for 3 – 4 minutes.
Pour in hot water, add the Parmesan rind and season with salt and pepper, not too sparingly. Simmer until the potatoes are cooked. This takes about 15 – 20 minutes.
Remove the rosemary, stir the dry pasta into the stock and cook everything over a medium heat for two minutes less than specified on the packaging of your pasta . Stir from time to time to ensure that nothing catches and that starch is released from the potatoes and pasta to form a creamy sauce.
If any water is missing during the process, add a little boiling water.
Then remove the Parmesan rind, switch the heat to the lowest setting and leave the dish to rest with the lid on for 5 minutes (or a little longer). Keep tasting the pasta until it is perfectly cooked and season with salt and pepper if necessary.
When serving, grate a little Parmigiano Reggiano over the pasta and finish with a few drops of the best olive oil.
Enjoy.
And may the taste be with you.
Ingredients ( for 2 people):
1 tbsp olive oil
80 g lardo, guanciale or pancetta
Optional: chilli (fresh or dried) and/or 1 clove of garlic
350 g waxy potatoes
1 small onion
80 g carrots
80 g celery stalks
2 tsp tomato concentrate
1 sprig of rosemary
750 ml hot water (more as required)
salt and pepper
4 cm Parmesan rind
160 – 180 g short pasta (or pasta mista)
A little Parmigiano Reggiano and the best olive oil
