Pasta E Fagioli Soup
Serves: 4-6
 
Ingredients
  • ¼ cup unrefined cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 1 large carrot or 2 small carrots, diced
  • 2 stalks celery, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, chopped
  • Pinch of smoked paprika*
  • 2 Tablespoons tomato paste or 1 cup chopped canned tomatoes (no juice)
  • 3 cups cooked white beans (e.g. Cannellini or Great Northern) or Borlotti beans (aka cranberry beans) - if you use 2 (15-ounce) cans, drain the beans, no need to rinse
  • 1-2 teaspoons sea salt, depending on sodium content of the stock
  • 8 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock, divided (some people use beef stock)
  • 1 ¾ cups small pasta, such as ditalini, small elbows or broken pasta bits, about 7 ounces
  • ¼ cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
Instructions
  1. Warm oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrot and celery and sauté until onion is tender and translucent, about 5 minutes.
  2. Add garlic, smoked paprika, and tomato paste and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute.
  3. Add beans, salt and 7 cups stock. Bring to a boil over high heat. Lower to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Pull 2 cups worth of soup out of the pot. Make sure you get some beans in there. Blend in a blender until smooth. Pour back in the pot and bring the soup up to a boil. Add the pasta and cook in the soup until perfectly tender. Check the package for cook time. Stir in parsley.
  4. Taste for seasoning. Serve with Parmesan cheese and/or another drizzle of olive oil if desired.
Notes
*Traditionally, a little diced pancetta or a piece of salt pork is used in this soup. I don’t eat pork, so a pinch of smoked paprika just adds that bit of smokiness. Feel free to add ¼ to ½ cup of diced pancetta (or bacon) to the pot after the vegetables have been sautéed in Step 1. Sauté for about 5-10 minutes.
Recipe by Pamela Salzman at https://pamelasalzman.com/pasta-e-fagioli-soup-recipe/