White Bean and Pasta Soup With Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Submitted by Babs in Toyland

"I have been making this recipe for so many years I cannot remember where it came from, but it is my favorite soup in the winter. It is delicious and my entire family loves it."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 55mins
• Ingredients: 13
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 1 cup dried white bean, rinsed and picked over (such as Great Northern or cannellini)
• 1⁄4 cup olive oil
• 2 cups finely diced yellow onions
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
• 1⁄2 cup diced fennel or 1/2 cup diced celery
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 3⁄4 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
• 2 bay leaves
• 8 cups chicken stock
• 8 ounces bow tie pasta
• 1⁄2 cup fine diced sun-dried tomato (use the dry ones and reconstitute them in some hot water for 10 minutes before chopping)
• 1⁄4 cup finely diced fresh parsley
• freshly grated parmesan cheese

directions

1. Soak beans overnight in enough water to cover by 3 inches.
2. Heat oil in a large heavy soup pot over medium heat.
3. Add onions, carrots, fennel, garlic, pepper flakes and bay leaves.
4. Cover and cook until onions are tender, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.
5. Add beans and 7 cups stock.
6. Increase heat and bring to boil.
7. Reduce heat, cover partially and simmer until beans are tender, about 1 hour, 15 minutes.
8. (Can be made one day ahead and cover and refrigerate at this point).
9. Bring to a simmer before continuing.
10. Add pasta and tomatoes to soup.
11. Cover partially and simmer until beans and pasta are very tender, adding up to 1 cup stock if too thick, about 15 minutes.
12. Add parsley.
13. Taste and adjust seasonings with salt.
14. Discard bay leaves.
15. Ladle soup into bowls.
16. Serve, passing cheese seperately.

Reviews

[Becky]

I added 1 1/2 cups of diced tasso but you could use pancetta or even ham or bacon. It gave it a richness of flavor. I also recommend getting a good parmasan cheese like regianno, not the already grated kind. We loved it! This will become one of my staple winter soups.

 

[Cheri]

I substitute whole wheat bow tie pasta to increase fiber. This is delicious.

 

[Happyclip1]

This is the most wonderful soup that we've had in a long while. It's so flavorful. I add a little smoked bacon to it. I gave it to several people and the comments were the same. You have a winner here! Happyclip

 

[Melissa L.]

Excellent recipe! I made the following changes: browned 2 finely chopped rashers of bacon before adding my onions to the pot, doubled the sundried tomatoes, and puréed the white beans before adding. Thank you! I will definitely make this again soon.

 

[chiclet]

I had really mixed feelings about this soup. On the one hand it was easy to make and I almost always have the ingredients on hand. On the other hand, I had to add a LOT of salt. First I tried adding more sun-dried tomatoes and some balsamic vinegar but it was still kind of bland, so in went the salt. Also, the farfalle really sucked up a lot of broth. I think orzo or ditalini would be a better choice for the pasta unless you're going to eat the entire batch right away.