350 g (approx. 1 ¾ cups) Carnaroli rice (or Arborio)
1.5 L (approx. 6 cups) vegetable broth
20 g (1 tbsp) tomato paste
1 white onion
40 g (approx. ½ cup) Pecorino cheese (or Grana Padano), grated
5 sprigs fresh thyme
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
Extra virgin olive oil, as needed
Fine salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
Instructions
To prepare the potato soup, begin by bringing the vegetable broth to a boil in a saucepan. Meanwhile, peel the potatoes, slice them, and cut them into cubes of about 1 cm (½ inch).
Prepare the base: finely chop the onion. Pour a drizzle of olive oil into a large pot, add the chopped onion, and let it gently sweat for about 10 minutes, splashing in a ladle of hot broth as needed to prevent it from browning or burning.
After 10 minutes, add the cubed potatoes. Tie the rosemary and thyme sprigs together with kitchen twine (reserving one sprig of thyme for the garnish) to make a bouquet garni, and add it to the pot. Cover everything with boiling broth and cook for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, remove the herb bouquet using kitchen tongs and add the rice (you can use either Carnaroli or Arborio rice). Pour in more boiling broth until the rice and potatoes are fully covered.
Stir in the tomato paste until thoroughly dissolved and blended. Season with salt and pepper, then continue cooking for another 20 minutes, adding more hot broth as necessary.
Once the rice and potatoes are tender and fully cooked, stir in the grated cheese, add a final ladle of broth to achieve your preferred consistency, and adjust the black pepper if desired.
Strip the leaves from the reserved sprig of thyme and stir them in. Give everything one final stir before serving: your potato soup is ready to enjoy!
