Sardinian Shepherd's Soup
serves 4
Known as minestra del pastore, this gentle, nourishing Sardinian soup is made from spring vegetables simmered together with broken noodles in a broth made from goat’s milk.
Read more about this recipe on the Cookthink blog.
3 cups cold water
3 cups goat’s milk or whole cow’s milk
2 teaspoons kosher or sea salt, or to taste
2 cups cut-up green beans (1-inch pieces)
2 1/2 cups peeled diced yellow potatoes, such as Yukon Gold (1-inch pieces)
1 1/4 cups broken spaghetti (1-inch pieces)
1/2 cup frozen sweet peas
1 cup freshly grated pecorino romano
prep: 10 minutes
total: 25 minutes
sauce pot
Dutch oven
small bowl
spoon
ladle
1. In a medium Dutch oven or sauce pot, combine the water and milk and bring almost to a boil over medium-high heat (watch that the liquid does not boil over).
2. Add the salt and green beans, reduce the heat to medium, and boil for 3 minutes. Add the diced potatoes and boil for another 3 minutes, or until they are just tender.
3. Stir in the broken pasta and boil gently for about 15 minutes, or until the pasta is al dente. Stir in the peas and cook for 2 to 3 minutes if using frozen or slightly longer if using fresh, or until just tender.
4. While the peas are cooking, put the grated pecorino in a small bowl and add a few spoonfuls of the milky broth. Stir the cheese and hot broth together to make a thin paste and stir the paste into the soup until fully incorporated. Ladle the soup into shallow bowls and serve immediately.
