This soup is a love letter to the “Garbage” chapter in Gabrielle Hamilton’s cookbook Prune with recipes from her restaurant of the same name, which I think is pretty much one of the best restaurant cookbooks out there. Using your Parmesan rinds is a small victory that celebrates the flavor that lurks everywhere in our ingredients, even in the bits that normally find themselves in the trash bin. Likewise, leaving the peel on the onion adds not only more flavor here, but also a deep golden color. Cooking the pasta in the soup at the last minute thickens it slightly with starch, a good thing.
The cheese rinds have a tendency to leave their mark on the bottom of the pot. To eliminate the residue after cooking, add 1 cup [240 ml] each of water and white vinegar to the pot and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and let the pot sit for 10 minutes before pouring the mixture out and washing the pot. The stuck-on cheese will come off really easily . . . another small victory.
SERVES 4
6 cups [1.4 L] water or very light, not-too-salty chicken stock
1 large yellow onion, unpeeled, roughly chopped
4 large garlic cloves, unpeeled, crushed
1 cup [110 g] 1-in [2.5-cm] pieces Parmesan cheese rinds, plus grated Parmesan for serving
Kosher salt
1 cup [160 g] small pasta, such as ditalini or orzo
1 cup [130 g] frozen peas
Freshly ground black pepper
In a medium pot over high heat, combine the water, onion, garlic, and Parmesan rinds. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer until the liquid is really fragrant and heady and your whole kitchen smells like melted cheese (you’re welcome), about 45 minutes.
Strain the soup into a clean pot (or, if you don’t have another medium pot, strain into a bowl and then return it to your pot) and press down on the contents of the strainer to get every last bit of broth out. Discard the contents of the strainer (everything in it will have given all it can offer). Season the soup to taste with salt. (At this point, you can let the soup cool to room temperature and refrigerate it for up to 1 week or freeze it for up to 1 month before proceeding.)
When you’re ready to eat, bring the soup to a boil and add the pasta. Cook for 2 minutes less than the pasta package says to, then add the peas and cook until they’re bright green and cooked through, 2 minutes.
Divide the soup among four bowls. Sprinkle each bowl with some grated Parmesan and a few coarse grinds of pepper. Serve immediately.
SPIN-OFFS
FOR A BEANS AND GREENS SOUP, add a can of rinsed and drained white beans to the soup and a bunch of roughly chopped kale or Swiss chard, and you’ll have yourself a meal.
FOR AN OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD ONION SOUP, add a few caramelized onions to the soup base and omit the pasta and peas. Top each bowl of soup with a piece of toast you’ve rubbed with a garlic clove and drizzled with olive oil—and, if you’d like to go all the way, broiled with some grated Parmesan cheese on top.
USE PARMESAN RINDS when you’re cooking beans from scratch, or chicken soup, or any braised dish, even beef stew. The rinds will impart great flavor wherever they go.
The cheese rinds have a tendency to leave their mark on the bottom of the pot. To eliminate the residue after cooking, add 1 cup [240 ml] each of water and white vinegar to the pot and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and let the pot sit for 10 minutes before pouring the mixture out and washing the pot. The stuck-on cheese will come off really easily . . . another small victory.
SERVES 4
6 cups [1.4 L] water or very light, not-too-salty chicken stock
1 large yellow onion, unpeeled, roughly chopped
4 large garlic cloves, unpeeled, crushed
1 cup [110 g] 1-in [2.5-cm] pieces Parmesan cheese rinds, plus grated Parmesan for serving
Kosher salt
1 cup [160 g] small pasta, such as ditalini or orzo
1 cup [130 g] frozen peas
Freshly ground black pepper
In a medium pot over high heat, combine the water, onion, garlic, and Parmesan rinds. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer until the liquid is really fragrant and heady and your whole kitchen smells like melted cheese (you’re welcome), about 45 minutes.
Strain the soup into a clean pot (or, if you don’t have another medium pot, strain into a bowl and then return it to your pot) and press down on the contents of the strainer to get every last bit of broth out. Discard the contents of the strainer (everything in it will have given all it can offer). Season the soup to taste with salt. (At this point, you can let the soup cool to room temperature and refrigerate it for up to 1 week or freeze it for up to 1 month before proceeding.)
When you’re ready to eat, bring the soup to a boil and add the pasta. Cook for 2 minutes less than the pasta package says to, then add the peas and cook until they’re bright green and cooked through, 2 minutes.
Divide the soup among four bowls. Sprinkle each bowl with some grated Parmesan and a few coarse grinds of pepper. Serve immediately.
SPIN-OFFS
FOR A BEANS AND GREENS SOUP, add a can of rinsed and drained white beans to the soup and a bunch of roughly chopped kale or Swiss chard, and you’ll have yourself a meal.
FOR AN OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD ONION SOUP, add a few caramelized onions to the soup base and omit the pasta and peas. Top each bowl of soup with a piece of toast you’ve rubbed with a garlic clove and drizzled with olive oil—and, if you’d like to go all the way, broiled with some grated Parmesan cheese on top.
USE PARMESAN RINDS when you’re cooking beans from scratch, or chicken soup, or any braised dish, even beef stew. The rinds will impart great flavor wherever they go.
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