Equipment
Ingredients
The Five Core Ingredients
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 300 g sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1.5cm cubes
- 1200 ml vegetable broth, low-sodium preferred
- 120 g ditalini pasta, dry
- 150 g lacinato kale, stemmed and chopped
Pantry Staples (To Taste)
- 30 ml olive oil, extra virgin
- 5 g kosher salt
- black pepper, freshly cracked
- red pepper flakes
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 221 kcal
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbohydrates
- 32 g
- Fat
- 9 g
- Fiber
- 4 g
- Sugar
- 10 g
- Sodium
- 2007 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 1 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 6 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 1 g
- Cholesterol
- 12 mg
- Potassium
- 620 mg
- Calcium
- 110 mg
- Iron
- 2.0 mg
- Magnesium
- 46 mg
- Phosphorus
- 52 mg
- Zinc
- 0.6 mg
- Vitamin A
- 4407 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 22 mg
- Vitamin E
- 1.3 mg
- Vitamin K
- 130 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.1 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 0.0 mcg
- Thiamin
- 0.09 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.11 mg
- Niacin
- 0.7 mg
- Folate
- 26 mcg
- Water
- 88 g
Sources: Aggregated Public Data, USDA FoodData Central
Method
Prepare your vegetables: peel and dice the sweet potatoes into 1.5cm cubes to ensure even cooking. Strip the kale leaves from tough stems and chop coarsely. Dice the onion.
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the diced onion and a pinch of salt. Sauté for 5-7 minutes until the onion is translucent and soft, but not browned.
Add the diced sweet potatoes and vegetable broth to the pot. Increase heat to high to bring the liquid to a boil.
Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer (approx. 85°C/185°F). Cook for 5 minutes. The potatoes should be slightly softened but still firm in the center.
Stir in the ditalini pasta. Simmer for about 8-10 minutes (refer to package instructions for al dente timing). The starch from the pasta will begin to body to the soup.
When the pasta is 2 minutes away from being done, stir in the chopped kale. Cook until the kale is wilted and tender vibrant green.
Remove from heat. Taste and season with salt, fresh black pepper, and optional red pepper flakes. Serve immediately.
Chef's Notes
- Uniformity is key: cut the sweet potatoes roughly the same size as the pasta shape to ensure every spoonful has a balanced mix of ingredients.
- If using a store-bought broth that is very salty, hold back on adding extra salt until the very end.
- For a deeper flavor profile without adding extra ingredients, allow the onions to caramelize slightly (turn golden) in step 2 before adding the liquid.
- Lacinato (Dino) kale is preferred over curly kale here because it holds its texture better in soups and has a sweeter, less bitter finish.
Storage
Refrigerator: 3 days — Pasta will absorb liquid over time; add a splash of water or stock when reheating.
Freezer: 1 month — Freezing changes the texture of cooked pasta significantly; prefer freezing the soup base without pasta.
Reheating: Simmer gently on stovetop until heated through. Do not boil vigorously or pasta may disintegrate.
Troubleshooting
Soup has turned into a stew/pasta absorbed all liquid
Cause: Pasta sat in the hot liquid too long after cooking or during storage
Fix: Stir in an extra 100-200ml of hot water or broth to loosen
Prevention: Serve immediately after cooking; store pasta separately if making ahead
Sweet potatoes are disintegrating
Cause: Potatoes were cut too small or boiled vigorously
Fix: Cannot be fixed, but the soup will still taste good, just thicker
Prevention: Keep potato dice at 1.5cm and maintain a gentle simmer, not a rolling boil
Cultural Context
This dish draws inspiration from the Italian 'Minestra', a loose category of thick vegetable soups often featuring pasta or rice. While traditionally made with beans (like Ribollita), this modern variation highlights the synergy between New World sweet potatoes and Old World brassicas.
