Pasta with my grandma’s onion and tomato, with added potatoes.
I remember I really started cooking when I was very small and as soon as my mother realized I could manage on my own, gradually cooking at home became my responsibility.
Considering that I got married at 22 (I’m 43 now) and had been cooking for a lifetime, imagine how much cooking is in my DNA.
When I was in high school my mother took care of lunch so that it would be ready when we arrived; I, instead, was in charge of dinner. Once university started, however, whenever I missed class, lunch became my task too.
During cold days there was one dish I especially loved to prepare and it was pasta “cca cipudda e u pumaroru”, a simple pasta soup with onion and tomato sauce, a poor dish but truly comfort food.
I clearly remember that my grandmother, my mother’s mother, adored it too and since she lived in the same building, pasta with onion and tomato was always an occasion to have her over for lunch. Once I got married — maybe because my husband doesn’t like chunks of onion in his plate — this soup slipped into oblivion, until one day a memory of it resurfaced and I made it for my children, adding a few potatoes to make it creamier and more indulgent: from that moment on it became a must for many lunches and dinners.
If you’re looking for comfort-food soups, you absolutely must try this pasta, potato, onion and tomato soup — I’m sure it will warm your belly and your heart!
Ready? Let’s run to the kitchen then, the stove is waiting, but first I remind you that if you want to stay up to date with all my recipes, you can follow my Facebook page (here) and my Instagram profile (here) !

Take a look:

Pasta soup with onion, tomato and potatoes

Difficulty: Very easy
Cost: Very inexpensive
Preparation time: 10 Minutes
Portions: 5
Cooking methods: Stovetop
Cuisine: Italian
Seasonality: All seasons

Ingredients to make the Pasta, onion, tomato and potato soup

1 white onion (large)
1 2/3 cups potatoes
14 oz tomatoes (peeled tomatoes or chunked tomatoes)
to taste extra virgin olive oil
to taste salt
14 oz short pasta (short)
3/4 cup Parmesan (or Grana Padano)

Tools

Pot
Stove

Steps to make the Pasta, onion, tomato and potato soup

Peel an onion and chop it into small pieces, sauté it in a good drizzle of olive oil and add the peeled, rinsed and diced potatoes.
Season with salt and let cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring often.
Add the tomato sauce made by blending the crushed tomatoes or the peeled tomatoes and cook until the potatoes are almost done.
Once you have a nice thick sauce, add about three times the weight of the pasta in water and bring to a boil.
Break the spaghetti into pieces, as my grandmother used to do, or use a short pasta and drop it into the boiling water.
Cook, adding a little water only if needed, season with salt and off the heat stir in olive oil and the grated Parmesan.
Let it rest for a couple of minutes, plate, serve and if you like add a sprinkle of black pepper.
Our grandma’s pasta soup is ready, I’m sure you’ll really love it. If you try it, let me know!