Pasta e Fagioli
User Reviews
5
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Prep Time
15 mins
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Cook Time
45 mins
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Total Time
1 hr
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Servings
4 to 6
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Course
Main Course
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Cuisine
Italian
Pasta e Fagioli
Description
This Pasta e Fagioli recipe begins by sweating aromatics including onion, fennel, and carrots in olive oil until softened and enhanced with salt and pepper. Garlic, tomato paste, and rosemary are added briefly to deepen the flavor foundation. Canned diced tomatoes, cannellini beans, vegetable broth, and optionally a Parmesan rind join the pot for a simmer, creating a rich and flavorful broth.
Small pasta such as ditalini is stirred in next, cooking in the broth until tender but retaining bite. Adding kale and a pinch of red pepper flakes near the end introduces a bright, earthy contrast to the creamy beans and mildly acidic tomatoes. The combination delivers a filling, textured soup with layers of mild herbal, vegetable, and savory flavors.
Serve this soup as a wholesome lunch or light dinner. A drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil when serving can add richness. The recipe can be easily adapted by varying the greens or using other small pasta shapes.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil plus more for drizzling
- 1 yellow onion diced, medium
- 1 fennel bulb finely chopped, or 2 celery ribs
- 2 carrot finely chopped, medium
- 1 teaspoon salt plus more to taste, sea salt
- black pepper freshly ground
- 3 garlic grated, cloves
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon rosemary chopped, fresh
- 1 diced tomatoes 14-ounce can
- 3 cups cannellini beans drained and rinsed, cooked
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- parmesan optional, rind
- 1 cup ditalini pasta or other small pasta
- 2 kale stemmed and torn (about 6 cups, or Swiss chard leaves, large
- Pinches red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, fennel, carrots, salt, and several grinds of pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 15 minutes, or until very soft.
- Add the garlic, tomato paste, and rosemary and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and their juices, the beans, broth, and Parmesan rind, if using. Simmer for 20 minutes.
- Add the pasta and simmer for 10 more minutes, or until al dente. Stir in the kale and red pepper flakes and cook until the kale is wilted. Season to taste and serve.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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