Pasta And Potato Soup

Preparation:

Preparation: Peel the onion, celery and carrot and chop them. Cut the ham into cubes. Peel the potatoes, cut them into small and regular pieces and rinse them. Heat the oil in a saucepan and gently brown the prepared mince together with the diced ham. When the vegetables begin to take on colour, add the wine and let it evaporate. Then put the potatoes in the saucepan and let them flavor for a few minutes, stirring constantly. Cover them with about 150 cl of hot water, add salt and cook on a moderate heat for about 30 minutes with the lid on. When the potatoes are tender, add the seeded and chopped tomatoes, a spoonful of chopped parsley and the pasta, stir and continue cooking for another 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, complete the soup with a grind of pepper and serve it piping hot with the grated cheese. A typical poor dish of central-southern cuisine, pasta and potato soup is nonetheless a very tasty preparation and has the great advantage, compared to other traditional soups, of relatively quick cooking. The Apulian version does not include the addition of ham or bacon but that of a heart of celery, cut into chunks and thrown into the pot together with the potatoes.