Description
A humble traditional Italian soup that is creamy, hearty, and rich in flavour. Pasta e fagioli is the perfect winter warmer.
Ingredients
- 500g / 17.63 ounces dried borlotti beans (or 7 cups of cooked beans)
- 2 bay leaves
- 9 cups / 2.25 litres vegetable stock (or water)
- ¼ cup / 50ml olive oil (plus extra for drizzling)
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 celery ribs, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 sprig of fresh rosemary
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 cups / 200g pasta (I used liscio piccolo, you can use any small pasta)
- Salt, to taste
- Pepper, to taste
Instructions
- If using dried beans, pre-soak the beans in a large bowl overnight with a good pinch of salt.
- The next day, strain and rinse the beans. Add to a pot with 8 cups / 2 litres of water, the bay leaves and a good pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and cook for around 1 hour or until the beans are cooked. Discard the bay leaves and rinse the beans.
- Scoop out 3 cups of the beans and set them aside. This will be added to the soup at the end.
- In a blender, add the remainder of the beans and 1 cup / 250ml of the stock. Blend until smooth.
- In a large skillet on medium heat, add the olive oil, onion, carrot, and celery, sauteing for around 7 minutes until nice and soft.
- Add the garlic and saute for a further 2 minutes.
- Add in the blended beans and the rest of the stock (which should be 8 cups / 2 litres) give it a good stir to combine.
- Add in the rosemary sprig and tomato paste and bring to a boil. Stirring occasionally.
- Add in the pasta and cook for the amount of time as directed on the back of the packet, with an additional two minutes. My pasta was meant to cook for 8 minutes; I cooked it for 10 minutes.
- Once cooked, add in the beans that you had set aside earlier and mix well. Remove the rosemary sprig.
- Season to taste and serve immediately with a drizzle of olive oil.
Notes
Not eating it straight away? If you’re not planning on serving the food straight away, cook the pasta separately and add it in as you serve it.
- Diet: Vegan
