Pea & Pasta Soup

Colleen: "I really really enjoyed this dish, for some reason I have been craving soup which makes no sense since it's 100 degrees down here in the South. But non the less this was a wonderful addition to my cooking 'regulars'. To make this dish more budget friendly I would consider using bacon or ham, if you don't want to keep marjoram in your spice cabinet I would add oregano and it would be absolutely perfect. The only failure of this recipe is when I dumped the parmesan in the soup it clumped together, next time I will just use the cheap stuff from the 'green' can."

4 SERVINGS PREP: 10 MINS COOK: 30 MINS

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons EVOO
• 2 ounces pancetta, finely chopped
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram or thyme
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups ditalini pasta
• 1 1/2 cups thawed frozen peas
• salt and pepper
• 1 cup grated parmesan

Directions

1. In a large dutch oven or soup pot, heat the EVOO over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook until it begins to brown and render its fat, about 5 minutes. Add the onion and lower the heat if necessary to prevent it from burning. Add the marjoram and cook until the onion is softened, about 8 minutes.
2. Pour in the chicken broth and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir in the ditalini and peas; season lightly with salt and pepper. Lower the heat and simmer, stirring often, until the pasta is al dente, about 10 minutes.
3. Remove from the heat and stir in 1/2 cup parmesan. Ladle the soup into bowls and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup parmesan.

Recipe sourced from rachael ray magazine