Recipe: Pasta & Bean Soup (Pasta e Fagioli)

Pasta & Bean Soup (Pasta e Fagioli)

No matter what you call it, this aromatic comfort food is all about great taste and timeless tradition. 

Italian food and travel blogger, culinary guide, and cooking instructor Monica Cesarato of Cook in Venice shares an authentic Italian dish with us. 

Try this delicious hearty recipe, and let's dream of Italy together!

Servings: 4
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 120 minutes*

Ingredients

• 500 g of fresh Borlotti beans (aka "Italian kidney beans," about 2 cups). If dry, use half the amount. These need to soak overnight, so plan ahead
• 2 or 3 strips of pork rind (cotenna). You can substitute fatback, unsmoked bacon, or pancetta
• 1 onion
• 1 stick of celery
• 1 carrot
• 1 garlic clove
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1 rosemary twig
• 1 bunch parsley
• 150-200 g pasta (about 2/3 to 1 cup dry), such as ditalini or elbow macaroni
• Parmesan cheese to taste
• salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

1. First of all the beans: choose Borlotti beans, preferably Lamon IGP – shelled fresh or, if dried, an amount equivalent to half the weight, leaving it in water for at least a whole night to soak.*
2. Simmer the beans in plenty of lightly salted water, until soft.
3. Chop the onion, celery, carrot, garlic, rosemary, parsley.
4. In another pan fry in some olive oil the chopped onion, celery, garlic, rosemary and parsley- fry until soft.
5. Add the fried ingredients to the boiling water with the beans.
6. Add the pork rind and season with salt. Remember to always add your salt to the bean halfway through their cooking, so they do not get hard.
7. Let the soup simmer for a long time on a very slow heat, until all the beans fall apart.
8. Once the soup is ready, remove from heat.
9. Take half of the beans from the soup and puré them (with a food processor or a sieve).
10. Add them back to the pan. This will make your soup nice and thick.
11. Bring the soup back on a slow heat and add your fresh pasta. Add some pepper to taste.
12. Cook for about 20 minutes.
13. Remove from heat and add as much Parmesan cheese as you like – serve hot.
14. Season with some freshly milled pepper and a drop of vinegar. This is how the old farmers in the countryside of Venice used to eat this soup during the winter months.

​*to speed up cook time, you may substitute canned Borlotti or Cannellini beans

Serve with a grating of Romano or Parmesan cheese, crusty bread and salad. Perfetto!

To view the recipe on Monica's website, click here

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