My Beta Life - a work in progress

Peasant food – pasta and potatoes.  My grandmother used to make this all the time.  I found this The Sopranos Family Cookbook – recipes by Michele Scicolone (see below).  I wish I had written Grandma’s recipe down, but this is pretty close.

Ingredients:

½ cup olive oil

2 thick slices of pancetta

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped (or more….)

1 medium carrot, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1 small celery rib, chopped

Several large leaves fresh basil, chopped

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 tablespoon of tomato paste

1 or 1 ½ pounds of boiled potatoes, peeled and diced

6 cups of water

1 pound of penne or other short pasta

2 cups of boiling water

½ cup (at least…) of Parimgiano-Reggiano (or the cheap stuff..)

To prepare:

Chop pancetta, garlic, carrot, celery, onion and basil together, heat oil in large pan, added chopped vegetables – cook until tender.

Stir in the tomato paste, add salt and pepper to taste.  Add potatoes and water, brin to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are soft (half hour maybe?).  Mash some of the potatoes with a spoon.

Add pasta and boiling water.  Cook, stirring often until pasta is tender.  Mixture should get pretty thick.

Stir in cheese and serve right away.

Found this here:

The Sopranos Family Cookbook: As Compiled by Artie Bucco

http://www.amazon.com/Sopranos-Family-Cookbook-Compiled-Artie/dp/0446530573/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241812158&sr=8-1