Sopa de Coditos (Colombian Elbow Pasta Soup)

No ratings yet

Potato, carrot and tomato pressure cooked with achiote, then elbow pasta added at the end for the last ten minutes. Half an hour, four servings, and the pasta goes in last for a reason.

Prep Time10

Cook Time30

Total Time40

Course: Soups

Cuisine: Colombian

Keyword: coditos soup, pasta soup

Servings:

Calories: 305kcal

Author: Angela Giraldo

Ingredients

½ pound elbow pasta added at the end
2 cups potatoes diced small
1 carrot grated or diced small
1 tomato finely chopped
½ onion or 2 stalks of spring onion finely chopped
½ bouillon cube beef or chicken
Achiote or annatto colouring 'color' in Colombia, to taste
Salt to taste

Instructions

Put the potatoes, the carrot, the tomato, the onion, the bouillon cube, the achiote colouring and salt to taste in the pressure cooker, with enough water.
Cook over medium heat for 20 minutes.
Release the pressure carefully, take the lid off and bring it back to a simmer. Add the elbow pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes more, until it is done.
Serve hot.

Notes

Pasta and pressure cookers do not go together. Half a pound of elbow pasta needs eight to ten minutes in boiling water; twenty minutes under pressure dissolves it into the broth and leaves a thick, cloudy soup with no pasta in it. That is why it now goes in at the end, once the lid is off. It also means the soup will not wait. Pasta keeps absorbing liquid off the heat, so a pot left standing thickens noticeably and by the next day the coditos are soft and the broth has gone. If it has to sit, cook the pasta separately and add it to each bowl. What Colombians call color is a powdered achiote or annatto colouring sold in sachets. It turns the broth golden and adds almost no flavour. Turmeric or sweet paprika does the same. The recipe's own description says you can add chicken or beef, which turns this from a side soup into a meal.

Nutrition