Pasta e Fagioli

Yields: 5-6 servings

Time: 15 minute prep, 1 hour cook

Pasta e fagioli, or pasta with beans, is a hearty and healthy Italian classic that can be adapted to whatever you have in the kitchen. Classic ingredients include cannellini beans, pancetta, mirepoix, and ditalini pasta but feel free to make substitutions. Try pinto beans for cannellini or bacon and guanciale for pancetta. Short pasta works best but use whatever shape brings you joy! This recipe sticks to some traditional flavors while adding a few variations here and there to add brightness and extra umami flavor.

Ingredients:

• Thick-cut bacon

• Olive oil

• Unsalted butter

• Celery

• Yellow onion

• Carrot

• Garlic

• Great Northern White Beans (2 cans)

• Tomato paste

• Bay leaves

• Kosher salt

• Black pepper

• Red pepper flakes

• Fresh basil

• Fresh parsley

• Fresh oregano

• Cooking sherry

• Whole San Marzano tomatoes

• Chicken stock (homemade preferred)

• Baby spinach

• Elbow pasta, or any short pasta

• Peccorino Romano, for serving

Special Equipment:

• Immersion blender or food processor

Directions

Step One:

Drain and rinse beans, divide in two. In a small bowl, combine half of the beans with about 1/2 cup of chicken stock. Using an immersion blender or food processor, blend the beans and broth until totally smooth. Set blended and whole beans aside.

Step Two:

Cube 4-5 slices of bacon. Sauté in a large pot over medium-high heat until golden brown and crispy. Drain onto a paper towel and set aside. Save 2-3 tablespoons of bacon fat to sauté veggies, discard any excess.

Step Three:

Dice about one cup each of celery, carrot and onion. Heat olive oil and unsalted butter over medium-high heat in same pot used for the bacon. Add celery, carrot, and onion, cook 2 minutes. Season to taste with kosher salt and black pepper, cook an other 5 minutes. Chop 3-4 cloves of garlic and add to pot; continue cooking until carrots are softened and celery and onion have become translucent.

Step Four:

Scoop a tablespoon of tomato paste into pot. Add whole beans and bacon, mix to coat thoroughly. Season to taste with chopped fresh herbs, red pepper flakes, and bay leaves. Cook until tomato paste has reduced a bit and herbs become fragrant.

Step Five:

Increase heat to high and pour in two capfuls of cooking sherry. Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly.

Step Six:

Drain any excess liquid from San Marzanos. Add to pot and gently break apart tomatoes with a wooden spoon, keeping them relatively chunky. Taste a few beans and add more salt if needed at this step.

Step Seven:

Mix in blended beans. Pour in just enough chicken stock to loosen up the broth, without it being too thin, 2-3 cups. Bring to a boil. Taste and adjust any seasonings if needed. Reduce to low and simmer uncovered for 1 hour. Remove bay leaves before serving.

Step Eight:

Meanwhile, boil 1/2 lb. of your chosen short pasta in well salted water. Cook just 1-2 minutes shy of al dente; this helps the pasta maintain its integrity in the soup. Drain and mix with a few knobs of unsalted butter.

Step Nine:

To serve, add a scoop of pasta into individual bowls; ladle soup over pasta. Top with a handful of baby spinach and a sprinkle of pecorino Romano. Enjoy!

Leftovers

If you have any left overs, it’s important to store soup and pasta separately. If you combine the pasta with the soup the pasta will absorb all moisture from the broth. The noodles will become soggy and the soup dry. Store in separate containers, combine right before reheating.