Pasta e Fagioli

By Martha Rose Shulman

Pasta e Fagioli
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Total Time
1 hour 20 minutes, including 30 minutes unsupervised simmering
Rating
5(2,443)
Comments
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This is a classic Italian bean and pasta soup. If you have already made a pot of beans using a pound of beans, and want to use it for this soup, just use half the beans but all of the broth as directed in Step 1.

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Ingredients

Yield:8 servings
  • 1recipe Simmered Pintos using only ½ pound (about 1⅛ cups) beans
  • 1tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1medium or large onion, chopped
  • 1½teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
  • 2large garlic cloves, minced
  • 128-ounce can chopped tomatoes with juice
  • Pinch of sugar
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1small dried red pepper, or ¼ to ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
  • A bouquet garni made with a bay leaf, 1 or 2 Parmesan rinds, and a few sprigs of thyme and parsley
  • 6ounces elbow macaroni or small shells (1 cup)
  • 2 to 3tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
  • 2ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (½ cup), optional
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

144 calories; 5 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 17 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 8 grams protein; 352 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Make the simmered beans as directed, changing only the amount of beans (use 2 quarts water). Remove onion and bay leaf, using tongs or a slotted spoon, as directed. Place a strainer over a bowl and drain beans. Measure broth and top up with enough water to make 6 cups.

  2. Step 2

    Heat oil over medium heat in a large, heavy casserole or Dutch oven and add chopped onion. Cook, stirring, until just tender, about 5 minutes. Add rosemary and garlic and stir together for another minute, until garlic is fragrant. Stir in tomatoes, add sugar, salt and pepper, and cook, stirring often, until tomatoes have cooked down and the mixture is very fragrant, 10 to 15 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    Add broth from the beans, tomato paste, hot pepper, bouquet garni, and salt to taste and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 30 minutes. Stir in beans and heat through. Taste and adjust salt.

  4. Step 4

    10 to 15 minutes before serving, stir in pasta. When it is cooked al dente, taste and adjust seasonings, stir in parsley, and serve, passing Parmesan in a bowl.

Tip
  • Advance preparation: You can make the dish up through Step 3 a day or two ahead. Refrigerate, then bring back to a simmer, stirring often, before continuing.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
2,443 user ratings
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Comments

Giammarco

A true classic Italian comfort food, of which there are probably as many recipes as there are Italian cooks. However, this one is just a big bowl of wrong. 1) WRONG BEANS! Pinto beans?! How awful! Borlotti beans. If you can't find them by name, look for cranberry beans. 2) Too much tomato! The tomato paste is enough, leave out the canned tomatoes. 3) NO SUGAR! What a crazy idea! 4) Add celery and carrots to the onions for a good soffritto. (to be continued...)

Paola

Hi, I am Italian, and the bean soup is served without parmigiano (or any kind of cheese). Also, is usually without tomatoes, or maybe a couple of fresh tomatoes or just a little spoon of tomato paste. But it is never so red and never cooked with sugar! Ditalini is the most common pasta for this recipe.

Patrick

If not to be consumed in one seating, I usually put as much as needed in a separate saucepan and add the pasta. If the pasta is added all at once, the leftover soup will resemble wallpaper paste.

Victoria C

Delicious foundation for a recipe! I used cassoulet beans for the recipe, about 3.5 cups of cooked ones that followed the pinto beans recipe that’s noted in this recipe, except I also added some dried oregano while cooking the beans. I used better than bouillon vegetable as my stock base in my beans (and ultimately soup base), and also used it when cooking ditallini pasta on the side. I added one carrot chopped very small with the onion step, then added tomato paste early on to allow it to caramelize a bit, before adding only a 14oz can of diced tomatoes. Then followed the rest as-is, except I just didn’t have thyme or rosemary. Serve it up with the pasta:soup ratio you love when you’re ready to eat, with a sprinkling of Parmesan on top and some olive oil, and it’s truly delish! (And maybe some roasted garlic bread on the side… yum!)

Susan B

Cut up the Parmesan rind when soup is ready and add it back to the soup

Susan B

You can let the potato “water” sit in the bowl for 15-20 minutes and then pour off the liquid. What is let is potato starch. Mix that into the potatoes and you don’t need flour

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