– 125g parmesan in one piece
– 1 bunch of silverbeet or swiss chard (about 500gm)
– 1/4 cup olive oil
– 1 onion, chopped finely
– 2 cloves garlic, chopped finely
– 100g small pasta (like risoni, or snapped up bits of spaghetti, or trofle)
– 2 tbsps mint, roughly chopped
Put the parmesan in a bowl and cover it with cold water. Let it soak for half an hour, then drain it and cut into 5mm cubes.
While the parmesan is soaking, trim a couple of centimetres from the end of the silverbeet stalks. Then trim the leaves off the stalks, and cut the stalks into slices of roughly 1cm.
Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan. Add the onion and a sprinkle of salt and let it soften over a medium heat for five minutes. Add the silverbeet stalks and the garlic, and cook for another 10 minutes stirring occasionally.
Add two litres of water (or more, I needed another litre or so) and bring it to the boil. Reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes until the silverbeet stalks are tender. Add the pasta and parmesan and cook for a further 10 minutes or until the pasta is al dente.
While that is happening, thinly slice enough of the silverbeet leaves to give you about a cup and a half of green-ness. Then add to the soup and simmer for another 2 minutes, or until the silverbeet is tender.
Finally, stir in the mint leaves (and any more salt and pepper you think may be needed) and serve!