pasta e fagioli (Italian pasta bean soup)
This is pasta e fagioli done right—with bits of pancetta, creamy borlotti beans, and a parmesan scented broth so good you’ll want to lick the bowl (but bread works too).
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 4
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 4 oz pancetta, finely diced
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 1 small carrot, finely diced
- 1 celery stalk, finely diced
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup passata (or strained tomato puree)
- 3 cups cooked borlotti beans (from 1/2 lb dried)
- 4- 5 cups chicken stock (or a mixture of stock and bean cooking liquid, if you have it)
- 1 1/2 cups small tubular pasta (like ditalini)
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan, plus more for serving
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a dutch oven over medium. Add pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until fat is rendered and pancetta is starting to brown, about 5 minutes.
- Add onion, carrot, and celery and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are very soft, 10- 12 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about a minute.
- Stir in the tomato passata and simmer gently for about 10 minutes, stirring every so often, until tomatoes have thickened and darkened a bit.
- Stir in beans and 4 cups stock and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook 5 minutes.
- Scoop out 1 cup of beans and some cooking liquid into a 2-cup glass measuring cup. Place an immersion blender directly in the measuring cup and pulse until smooth. Alternatively, use a stand blender. Return bean puree to the pot and add more salt or pepper, as needed.
- Add pasta and bring to a gentle simmer, stirring every so often to prevent sticking, until pasta is tender but still al dente. Stir in more stock, if needed, so pasta has enough liquid to cook in.
- When soup is ready, stir in parmesan. Serve hot, passing extra parmesan.
Notes
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
This recipe makes about 8 cups of soup, or 4 generous 2-cup servings.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 cups
- Calories: 600
- Sugar: 8.4g
- Sodium: 602mg
- Fat: 27g
- Saturated Fat: 8.4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 17.7g
- Trans Fat: 0.1g
- Carbohydrates: 62g
- Fiber: 11g
- Protein: 27g
- Cholesterol: 33mg
Find it online: https://www.withspice.com/blog/pasta-e-fagioli/