Ditalini With Potatoes And Provola Recipes

Steps:

• Put 4 tablespoons of the olive oil and the chopped bacon in the big skillet and set over medium-high heat. Stir and cook for 3 or 4 minutes, to render bacon fat. Stir in the chopped onion, and cook until it is sizzling and wilting, about 3 minutes. Spill in the cubed potatoes, toss well in the fat, then spread them in the pan. Season with the salt, and cook, tossing and turning the potatoes frequently, for another 3 or 4 minutes, until the cubes are lightly crisped all over.
• Pour in 4 cups water, stir everything around, and scrape up any crust on the skillet bottom. Bring the water to a gently bubbling boil and cook, stirring frequently, for about 20 minutes, until the potatoes are cooked. The soup (or sauce, depending on your point of view) should reduce so it barely covers the potato cubes.
• Meanwhile, bring 6 quarts of salted water to the boil in a pasta pot. After the potatoes have cooked for about 10 minutes, drop the ditalini into the pot and cook al dente. Drain the ditalini, and stir into the thickened potato soup/sauce. Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, and simmer the pasta e patate together for another 3 minutes or so, to an even denser consistency.
• Stir in the diced tomatoes, cook for a minute, and adjust salt to taste. Turn off the heat, scatter the cubed provola all over, and stir into the pasta e patate continuously as it melts into threads. Finally, stir in the grated cheese. Serve immediately, in warm bowls.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Drizzle olive oil over the bottom of a 9x13-inch casserole dish. Pour tomatoes and their juices into the dish; cut each tomato into 3 pieces. Sprinkle in onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, and 2 teaspoons oregano; stir to combine.
• Roast in the preheated oven for 1 hour. Remove dish from oven, stir briefly, return to oven and roast for an additional 15 minutes.
• Transfer roasted tomato mixture to a saucepan; pour in water. Process mixture with an immersion blender or potato masher until desired sauce consistency is reached. Stir in 1 teaspoon oregano. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Set aside.
• Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling, stir in the ditalini and return to a boil. Cook the pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta has cooked through but is still firm to the bite, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain well and return to pot.
• Pour tomato sauce over ditalini; stir to combine. Stir in goat cheese.