Pasta e fagioli

Name: Pasta e fagioli
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve; 80 g pancetta, diced; 1 onion, finely chopped; 1 carrot, finely chopped; 1 celery stick, finely chopped; 2 clove garlic, finely chopped; 1 sprig rosemary; 200 g chopped tomatoes, canned; 2 can borlotti beans, 400 g each, drained and rinsed; 1 l chicken or vegetable stock; 150 g ditalini or other small pasta; 40 g parmesan, finely grated; salt and black pepper

1 h
Prep 15 min
Cook 45 min
Serves 4
easy

Start cooking

A thick, comforting Italian soup of borlotti beans and small pasta cooked together with pancetta, rosemary and a little tomato.

Method

1
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and fry the pancetta until the fat runs and the edges turn golden.
2
Add the onion, carrot and celery and cook until soft.
3
Add the garlic and rosemary and cook until fragrant.
4
Stir in the tomatoes and cook until slightly reduced.
5
Add the beans and stock, bring to a simmer and cook so the flavours mingle.
6
Remove the rosemary. Scoop out about a third of the beans with a little liquid, blend or mash them to a puree and stir it back in.
7
Add the pasta and simmer, stirring often so it does not stick, until tender. Add a splash of water if the soup gets too thick.
8
Take the pan off the heat, stir in half the parmesan and leave the soup to settle and thicken.
9
Taste for salt and serve with the rest of the parmesan, a drizzle of olive oil and black pepper.

Notes

The soup thickens as it stands. Loosen leftovers with a little water or stock when you reheat them.
For a vegetarian version, leave out the pancetta, use vegetable stock and a vegetarian hard cheese.
Cannellini beans can replace the borlotti.

Equipment

Large heavy saucepan, Stick blender or potato masher, Wooden spoon

Cook this step by step