Tuesday, February 6, 2018

Spinach Acini di Pepe Soup -- #recipe @LeslieBudewitz


LESLIE: Acini who?

Acini di Pepe, and you'll be delighted to meet her. Him. It -- what pronoun do you use for tiny yummy pasta? Doesn’t matter – you’ll love these little pellet-sized pasta in spinach soup. 

I’m a big fan of recipes from the backs of cans and boxes – they’re often the classic recipe we know and love, like pumpkin pie from the back of the Libby can or the pecan pie from the Karo bottle. This one comes from the back of the Ronzoni pasta box. I think my mother first told me about it, though how she found it, I have no idea. Now I am doing my part to make it better known!

As usual, I’ve revised the instructions but the ingredients are the original – dare I say the classic – recipe? Serve with a green salad and fresh, crusty bread, and you’ll be happy!

Spinach Acini di Pepe Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil or butter
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
48 ounces of chicken or vegetable broth
½ cup Acini di Pepe pasta, uncooked
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
salt and pepper, to taste
grated Parmesan

Heat the oil or butter and saute the onion and garlic until soft but not brown, about 5 minutes. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Add the pasta, nutmeg, and pepper; reduce heat and simmer about 5 minutes. Add the chopped spinach and simmer an additional five minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste. Ladle into bowls and top with grated cheese.

Makes 8 servings.

It's a classic!







From the cover of AS THE CHRISTMAS COOKIE CRUMBLES, Food Lovers' Village Mystery #5 (Midnight Ink, 2018, available for pre-order now):  

In Jewel Bay---Montana's Christmas Village---all is merry and bright. At Murphy’s Mercantile, AKA the Merc, manager Erin Murphy is ringing in the holiday season with food, drink, and a new friend: Merrily Thornton. A local girl gone wrong, Merrily’s turned her life around. But her parents have publicly shunned her, and they nurse a bitterness that chills Erin.


When Merrily goes missing and her boss discovers he’s been robbed, fingers point to Merrily—until she’s found dead, a string of lights around her neck. The clues and danger snowball from there. Can Erin nab the killer—and keep herself in one piece—in time for a special Christmas Eve?

Leslie Budewitz is the author of the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries and the Spice Shop Mysteries—and the first author to win Agatha Awards for both fiction and nonfiction. A past president of Sisters in Crime, she lives in northwest Montana with her husband, a musician and doctor of natural medicine, and their cat, an avid bird-watcher.

Swing by my website and join the mailing list for my seasonal newsletter. And join me on Facebook where I announce lots of giveaways from my cozy writer friends.

11 comments:

  1. A classic--simple, quick, and (I'm sure) tasty.

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  2. We're heading into a week of cold and snow. Making this today. Spinach, pasta and cheese a perfect soup. Of course anything with spinach is perfect. Thanks!

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  3. You know, I've never tried them and I love small pasta. I'm not the case now! Thanks, Leslie. Hugs. MJ

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  4. I've never used the pasta in soup, only Frog-eye salad. I have no idea why it's called that either. I'm going to try this soon! Thank you!

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    1. Frog Eye Salad? That's a new one to me -- the name alone is priceless! For others who are clueless, it's a sweet pasta salad, apparently often made with fruit and even baby marshmallows. Here's one version: http://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/frog-eye-salad-15395

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  5. Going to try the soup and the Frog Eye Salad. I love pasta and they both sound good!

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  6. Yum! Thanks. Even in Arizona ‘s non-winter temps, we love soup!

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