Pork, pasta, potato and spinach soup
Meat mains
Pork, pasta, potato and spinach soup
The term 'cucina rustica' seems to be out of fashion but it should be reinstated for this. If you're feeling like a walk on the wild side, it works equally well with sausages instead of the minced pork.
Ingredients
for the meat mix
- 500g minced pork
- pinch chilli flakes
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- ½ tsp fennel seeds, crushed
- 70ml glass wine, red or white
for the soup
- olive oil
- 1 red onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 100g pancetta or streaky bacon, diced
- 450g potatoes, peeled and cut into 1½cm cubes
- 2 celery stick, de-stringed and cut into 1½ cubes
- 100g Parmesan, grated, and a piece of rind
- 300g spelt penne
- 300g spinach
- salt and pepper
Method
For the meat mixture
-
Step 1
, combine the ingredients well, compact as much as possible and leave for an hour.
For the soup
-
Step 1
Heat three tablespoons of oil into a large, heavy saucepan and gently cook the onion on a low heat until it becomes translucent. Add the garlic and pancetta, and turn up the heat a little. Stir until they start to fry and then add the potatoes, meat mix, celery and cheese rind.
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Step 2
Keep stirring for about 5 minutes until the pork has browned and the potatoes have started cooking. Add the pasta and cover with boiling water. Stir the mixture frequently, and cook for about 9 minutes; you might need to add some more water.
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Step 3
Add the spinach and cook for another 5 minutes, it should then be cooked – test the pasta to see. Season to taste and serve with more olive oil and the grated Parmesan. The rind should have melted into a mush, one lucky winner will find it in their serving.
