Pasta and Bean Soup

Submitted by MarieRynr

"This is a delicious soup, economical and very easy to make. Recipe is from Lee Bailey's "Dinners At Home", with a few adaptions of my own. It uses things that are in most people's store cupboards, and can successfully be halved. Serve hot with some crusty bread!"

 

• Ready In: 1hr
• Ingredients: 13
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 1⁄4 lb thick sliced bacon
• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• 1⁄2 cup minced onion
• 1⁄2 cup minced celery
• 1⁄2 cup minced carrot
• 1 fat garlic clove, crushed
• 1 bay leaf, broken in two
• 1 1⁄2 cups canned crushed tomatoes
• 1 (19 ounce) can cannellini beans, drained
• 8 cups chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup small elbow macaroni

directions

1. Bring a small pan of water to a simmer. Cut the bacon strips into 4 equal pieces each, add to the water, blanch for 5 minutes, drain, dry well and then fry until crisp. Set the bacon aside and reserve 2 Tbsp of the bacon fat.
2. Heat the bacon fat and olive oil in a stock pot over medium heat. (I did not use the full amount of oil here).
3. Add the onion, celery, carrot and garlic. cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and increase the heat to high. Cook, stirring until reduced and slightly darkened, about 8 minutes.
4. Add the beans, stock, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then turn back to a simmer. Cook 5 minutes.
5. Mash some of the beans as this will thicken the soup slightly.
6. Add the reserved bacon and the macaroni. Bring back to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Cover the pot and remove from heat. Allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving. Serve immediately.