Yiayia’s Creamy Pasta

An old school Mediterranean, simple and comforting dish, you won’t be able to resist.

When I tell you this dish was my most requested to my grandmother, I do not exaggerate. I loved this creamy goodness with my heart and soul when I was a kid, the only difference was that my yiayia used to make it with spaghetti.

So let’s talk about the beauty of this dish. The best parts of this pasta plate is that it is undeniably creamy from mostly non dairy ingredients. I love creamy from heavy cream too but this happens to be a little less fatty then its dairy counterpart. Why is it creamy? That happens thanks to the starch of the potatoes AND the pasta (which cooks in with the tomato potato sauce).

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yiayia's pasta

Yiayia’s Creamy Pasta

5 from 2 votes
Servings: 4
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients 

  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • 1 large shallot, sliced
  • 12 oz campari tomatoes, halved
  • 3 medium potatoes, cut into tiny chunks
  • 1 tbs tomato paste
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 3-4 cups low sodium vegetable broth (or water)
  • 1.5 cups small pasta
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated pecorinno romano cheese
  • fresh basil for garnish

Instructions

  • Add your oil to a pot and saute your shallot for 2 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes for another 2 minutes. Add in the potatoes and tomato paste and toss all to coat for another few minutes. Season with salt, pepper to taste.
  • Next pour in your broth or water, bring to a simmer, lower the heat and cover your pot for 10 minutes. Uncover and stir in your pasta. Allow the pasta to cook, stirring occasionally until al dente (IF the sauce dries up and the pasta still hasn't cooked, simply add more liquid until the pasta is cooked). I like to pick out the tomato skins at this point. Remove the pot from the heat source and stir in your grated cheese. Serve in bowls with more cheese, a drizzle of olive oil and fresh cracked black pepper. Garnish with basil.

Notes

You can use an small sized pasta, like Ditalini.
You can use a small white onion in place of the shallot.
I used gold potatoes and chicken broth because that’s what I had on hand.
Make this vegan by skipping the cheese at the end or adding in a vegan parmesan cheese.

Nutrition

Calories: 506kcal | Carbohydrates: 84g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 274mg | Potassium: 1083mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 588IU | Vitamin C: 52mg | Calcium: 156mg | Iron: 3mg

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