Grandma Zeoli's Pasta and Potatoes

Pasta e Patate di Nonna Madalena Zeoli
As a child Madeleine used to be fond of Grandma Zeoli’s pasta e patate (pasta and potatoes). It was one of those poor man’s meals, as they say, when you’re on a tight budget. According to Madeleine, it was delicious and even fit for a rich person. She is offering this recipe for all of us to try – then you’ll know what she means by delicious. By the way, I know of a woman in Roma who has this frequently during the winter months. It is an excellent dish to have before you hit the cold and crisp air in December. If you live in the subtropics, just pick the month you want to have it in and turn up the AC!
Ingredients for 2:
1 slice of ham, (whole)
2 seeded tomatoes, chopped up
2 potatoes (all cubed)
1 little piece of onion, diced
1 rib of celery (whole)
1 small piece of carrot, diced
About 2 saucepans of hot water, a little more or a little less
A bit of sea salt
Pepper or peperoncino piccante tritato (red pepper flakes) as desired
Grated Parmigiano Reggiano for topping
Extra-virgin olive oil for sautéing
Preparation:
Sauté in oil the ham and onion in a large pot. Add the 2 potatoes, the carrot, a bit of salt, the tomatoes, and the rib of celery.
Stir constantly to prevent sticking, and then add the hot water. There is no exact quantity of water-it all depends on how you boil your pasta; if you boil it very al dente, it will need more liquid to finish cooking. If you cook the pasta longer initially, you’ll need less water. I would keep the saucepans of water reserved, starting out with one saucepan (which holds about 2 cups), and add more from the other as needed. You need to eyeball it.
In southern Italy the locals prefer to cook the pasta directly into the main pot to begin with, in which case they would need all the water immediately. Boy, it sounds complicated but it really isn't. Anyway, after you put your water in, cover the pot and watch over it periodically.
In the meantime cook about ½ -¾ lb of ditalini noodles until very al dente. Drain thoroughly and then add to the pot. Let cook a bit until noodles are softer and have a chance to absorb the flavors and liquid of the pot. You need to watch the pot at this point – don’t put in too much water – you can always add. You don’t want this dish as a soup.
When ready to serve, take out the celery and ham. Add peperoncino piccante tritato and Parmigiano Reggiano, if desired. By the way, Madeleine never put Parmigiano Reggiano on hers because it was delicious the way it was.
Buon appetito!