Description
This standout, Italian pasta e fagioli recipe is different than most. It’s made with fresh cherry tomatoes (instead of canned) to lighten the thick and hearty broth. Dried ditalini or fresh homemade pasta (scraps) cook directly in the pot; its natural starches thicken the soup. This soup thickens more on standing, so I recommend serving it right away. Or, have extra stock on hand to loosen up the texture when re-heating future meals. Recipe adapted from one of my favorite books: Cucina Povera by, Giulia Scarpaleggia.
Note: this recipe is made better using my simple homemade vegetable stock and my buttery, home-cooked beans from scratch. The layers of flavor are absolutely incredible!
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 small celery stalked, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, smashed
- 360 g (12 oz) cherry tomatoes, halved
- 500 g (2 cups) cooked white beans or 1x (15 oz) can of Great Northern or Cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
- 4 cups homemade veggie stock, divided, plus more as needed
- Fresh bay leaf
- 75 g ditalini pasta
- 1 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
- Parmesan cheese & sourdough bread, to serve
Instructions
- In a large pot (Dutch oven or 5-quart braiser pot), warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and celery; sauté until soft, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add the smashed garlic cloves. Cook for 30 seconds.
- Add the halved cherry tomatoes. Continue to cook for about 10 minutes, or until the tomatoes collapse, soften and their release their juices.
- Add the cooked white beans (or canned beans & 1 fresh bay leaf) with 1 cup of vegetable stock. Bring to a gentle boil.
- Add the pasta with 2 cups of stock. Reduce the heat to low. Cook, stirring often (so the pasta doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot because it will), until just shy of aldente, about 11 minutes. Add more stock as needed. When finished, the pasta should have a bite to it; it will continue to cook as the soup stands off the heat.
- Stir in the fresh parsley.
- Taste, and season with salt and pepper. If you want the soup more brothy, now is the time to add more stock. The soup will thicken more upon standing.
- Serve in wide shallow bowls with Parmesan cheese, sourdough bread, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.