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Pasta Fagioli

Photo by YSP

It was a rainy day here in Georgia yesterday and what better way to hunker down than with a warm bowl of soup. Luke and I spent most of the afternoon playing Legos while the little guy napped which made for a very relaxing day, but the moment I began sauteing the onions, garlic and pancetta for this pasta fagioli, the house came alive with a savory aroma!

To the best of my knowledge, pasta fagioli, in the simplest terms, is an Italian soup made with pasta and beans.  I've toyed around with a few recipes and I just really like the earthy flavor of this one.  The combination of rosemary, thyme and bay leaf is pure perfection!

Ingredients: Yields 6 servings (Recipe adapted from Giada De Laurentis)

  • 3 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 1 large sprig fresh rosemary
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 2 tbsp. pancetta, chopped
  • 1 whole garlic clove
  • 5 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 (14.5-ounce) cans red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 3/4 cup elbow diatlini
  • 3 stalks (about 4 cups) fresh kale, leaves separated from stalks
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Directions:

1. Wrap thyme, rosemary and bay leaf in cheesecloth and secure with kitchen twine.  

2. In a large, heavy saucepan or Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat.  

3. Add onion, pancetta and garlic clove and cook for about 5 minutes. 

4. REMOVE garlic clove and discard.

5. Add broth, beans and sachet of herbs.  Cover and bring to a boil over high heat, then decrease heat to medium and simmer until vegetables are very tender (about 10 minutes.)  

6. Discard sachet of herbs and add kale and ditalini pasta and boil until pasta is cooked al dente. (About 10 minutes.)

7.  Season the soup with salt and pepper and serve with fresh graded Parmesan.

3 comments:

  1. I love soup! I've been looking for a new recipe for a while, looks like I found it. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I heart pasta fagioli and this recipe and pic are amazing.

    ReplyDelete