Equipment
Ingredients
The Five Core Ingredients
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 300 g sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1.5cm cubes
- 1200 ml vegetable broth, low-sodium preferred
- 120 g ditalini pasta, dry
- 150 g lacinato kale, stemmed and chopped
Pantry Staples (To Taste)
- 30 ml olive oil, extra virgin
- 5 g kosher salt
- black pepper, freshly cracked
- red pepper flakes
Nutrition (per serving)
Method
Prepare your vegetables: peel and dice the sweet potatoes into 1.5cm cubes to ensure even cooking. Strip the kale leaves from tough stems and chop coarsely. Dice the onion.
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the diced onion and a pinch of salt. Sauté for 5-7 minutes until the onion is translucent and soft, but not browned.
Add the diced sweet potatoes and vegetable broth to the pot. Increase heat to high to bring the liquid to a boil.
Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer (approx. 85°C/185°F). Cook for 5 minutes. The potatoes should be slightly softened but still firm in the center.
Stir in the ditalini pasta. Simmer for about 8-10 minutes (refer to package instructions for al dente timing). The starch from the pasta will begin to body to the soup.
When the pasta is 2 minutes away from being done, stir in the chopped kale. Cook until the kale is wilted and tender vibrant green.
Remove from heat. Taste and season with salt, fresh black pepper, and optional red pepper flakes. Serve immediately.
Chef's Notes
- Uniformity is key: cut the sweet potatoes roughly the same size as the pasta shape to ensure every spoonful has a balanced mix of ingredients.
- If using a store-bought broth that is very salty, hold back on adding extra salt until the very end.
- For a deeper flavor profile without adding extra ingredients, allow the onions to caramelize slightly (turn golden) in step 2 before adding the liquid.
- Lacinato (Dino) kale is preferred over curly kale here because it holds its texture better in soups and has a sweeter, less bitter finish.
Storage
Refrigerator: 3 days — Pasta will absorb liquid over time; add a splash of water or stock when reheating.
Freezer: 1 month — Freezing changes the texture of cooked pasta significantly; prefer freezing the soup base without pasta.
Reheating: Simmer gently on stovetop until heated through. Do not boil vigorously or pasta may disintegrate.
