Pasta E Fagioli Soup

Remember Dean Martin swooning his “pasta fazool?” This soup is what he meant when he swore it was Amore. Pasta e fagioli - meaning “pasta and beans,” is the traditional meatless bean soup that is now a popular worldwide gourmet item. Like many other Italian favorite recipes, pasta e fagioli was a peasant food dish, due to cheaply available, stomach-filling beans and pasta.

• Ready In: 1 hr 5 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2 1⁄2 cups  dried cranberry beans, about 3 cups fresh
• 1  garlic clove, whole
• 1  tablespoon fresh rosemary needles, minced (1/2 teaspoon dried)
•  extra virgin olive oil
• 2  ounces pancetta or 2  ounces prosciutto
• 1 1⁄4 cups  good quality dried tubetti pasta
•  salt & pepper

Directions

1. If you’re using dried beans, sort them to remove stones or damaged beans and loose skins, soak them overnight and change the water at least once.
2. Cook the beans in 2 liters (8 cups) of water, with the pancetta, garlic, rosemary and salt to taste until done—they should be quite soft.
3. Remove half the beans from the pot with a slotted spoon and puree them through a food mill and toss them all back into the pot. Simmer the soup until it takes on a creamed velvety texture, with the whole beans bubbling along.
4. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and cook the pasta in the soup until it is al dente.
5. Adjust the seasoning, let the soup rest covered for a few minutes, then ladle the ambrosia into individual bowls, and serve drizzled with a thread of raw olive oil, paired with a nice red wine like a Chianti Classico.