Soup Pasta E Fagioli

Pasta e Fagioli started out life as a meatless peasant dish, and like many of the other peasant dishes , there are as many variations as there are cooks that make this dish. Apparently in some dialects of Italian, fagioli is pronounced “fazuË�l”, which explains why it’s known as Pasta Fazool here.

• Ready In: 1 hr 45 mins
• Serves: 6

Ingredients

• for soffritto

• 2  medium onions, chopped
• 3  medium celery ribs, chopped
• 2  medium carrots, chopped
• 6  garlic cloves, minced

• for soup

• 1⁄4 cup vermouth
• 1  quart  chicken stock or 1  quart  vegetable stock
• 2  cups chopped tomatoes
• 3⁄4 cup borlotti beans, soaked overnight (cranberry)
•  parmesan rind
• 1⁄4 cup  chopped fresh basil
• 1  bay leaf
• 4  sprigs thyme
•  salt and pepper
• 4  ounces  dried pasta (I used orecchiette)
•  parmigiano-reggiano cheese

Directions

1. Fry the ingredients for the soffritto until soft and about halved in volume. This process deepens the flavour of the soffritto (aka mirepoix) through a Maillard reaction, which causes sugars in the veggies to react with amino acids to form new flavour compounds.
2. Add the vermouth to the soffritto and cook until there is no liquid left. Add the chicken stock, chopped tomatoes, beans, Parmesan rind, basil, bay leaf and thyme. Allow this to simmer uncovered until the beans are tender (about 1 1/2 hours). If the soup start getting too thick, add a bit of water and continue cooking with a lid.
3. When the beans are tender, taste for salt and add more if needed. Add the pasta and cook until tender, you may need to add a bit more water if the pasta absorbs too much. Serve with bread and a generous dusting of freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.