Pasta e Fagioli

Surprisingly, last weekend was my first time trying Pasta e Fagioli. Not because I didn’t think I’d like it, it just wasn’t something my mom ever made growing up. And now that I’ve scarfed down 3 bowls, I’m about to say the same thing I say every time we try a new soup…this is my new favorite!!

We made this soup the same day as the bolognese that posted yesterday. While they were cooking it looked like we had 2 enormous pots of the same stuff. There are definitely some similarities: onion, carrot, celery, garlic, crushed tomatoes. But those are pretty standard ingredients for making a solid flavor base. Turns out the bolognese brought me straight back to wonderful Italia while the soup made me sad for what I had been missing out on all these years. Where has Pasta e Fagioli been all my life?

The sausage added a wonderful flavor to this soup. Add in the beans and thimble shaped pasta and you’ve made a soup that is a meal in itself. In fact, it’s been my dinner 2 days in a row now. We used hot Italian sausage, which I highly recommend if you like your food spicy. If you don’t, I’d stick with sweet Italian sausage.

Here's what you'll need

Start by sweating the onions

Add the chopped carrots and celery and let cook for a few minutes. Then add the garlic and cook until fragrant

Now start browning the sausage, breaking it up with a wooden spoon while it browns

Add the spices in next

Now pour in the crushed tomatoes, juice and all

The chicken broth goes in too, we used reduced sodium

Now a cup of ditalini pasta and the drained and rinsed cannellini beans

We served ours in a sourdough bread bowl...swoon!

This was spicy and delish! You could make yours more mild by using sweet Italian sausage

Servings: 6

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ a medium yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
½ cup carrot, peeled & chopped
½ cup celery, chopped
1 pound hot Italian sausage, casings removed (or sweet Italian sausage if you prefer mild)
½ tablespoon dried parsley
½ tablespoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon dried oregano
1-2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
1 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes
3-4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup ditalini pasta
Parmesan cheese, for grating on top

Directions
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add the diced onion and cook until it just begins to soften, about 2 minutes. Add diced celery and carrots and continue to cook, stirring frequently, for 3 more minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add the Italian sausage next, breaking it up with a wooden spoon while it cooks. Cook until no longer pink. Stir in the dried herbs and red pepper flakes. Add the crushed tomatoes and chicken broth and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the beans and ditalini pasta. You can add an extra cup of chicken broth if it needs to be thinned out. Simmer for 6-8 minutes, or until pasta is al dente. Serve with Parmesan cheese grated on top.

Source: adapted from Fake Ginger