Romanesco broccoli pasta soup

Romanesco broccoli pasta soup in blue and white bowl

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5 from 33 votes

A delicious traditional soup from Rome made with beautiful Romanesco broccoli. This soup is tasty, healthy and warming.

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Total Time45

Course: Main Course, Soup

Cuisine: Central Italy, Italian, Rome & Lazio

Keyword: authentic Italian pasta recipe, Italian food, Italian recipe, pasta soup, Roman cuisine, Romanesco broccoli, soup

Servings:

Calories: 327kcal

Author: Jacqui

Ingredients

200 g spaghetti or ditalini (7oz) spaghetti needs to be broken into pieces
1 medium Romanesco Broccoli washed and cut into florets
2 garlic cloves peeled
½ fresh red or green chili pepper (peperoncino) cleaned of seeds and chopped into small pieces
5 anchovy fillets you can use salted or preserved in oil
2 potatoes peeled and cut into cubes
2 cups vegetable stock
200 g cherry tomatoes (7oz) washed
3-4 tablespoon tomato passata You can use more passata if you don't have fresh tomatoes
salt to taste
fresh parsley optional
30 g parmesan or grana cheese grated optional
black pepper to taste

Instructions

Heat two to three tablespoons of oil in a deep frying pan or skillet, add the peeled garlic cloves and let them soften.
Add the anchovy fillets cut into pieces and let them melt, then add the chili pepper (peperoncino) cut into small pieces, cherry tomatoes and Romanesco broccoli florets. stir and cook for 5 minutes
Add the potato pieces and tomato passata and two to three cups of water or vegetable stock.
Continue to cook covered for 10 minutes and then add salt and pepperto taste and the pasta.
Cook until the pasta and Romanesco broccoli are both still a little al dente (firm). Remove the garlic.
Serve hot with a dash of extra virgin olive oil, grated Parmesan or grana, black pepper and chopped parsley as required.

Notes

Traditionally this soup is made with spaghetti broken into pieces or ditalini, but you can also use other types of soup pasta.

For a vegetarian version leave out the anchovies.They are there for their umami flavour. You can substitute them with umeboshi paste. Also use a vegetarian cheese as Parmigiano and grana are made with animal rennet.

Nutrition