Monday, October 15, 2007

Pasta Fagiole Soup

I have a little spiral-bound black book where I copy down recipes I don't want to lose. About half of these recipes I've never even made, but I was so excited about them I copied them down. The ones I've made and love get stars or other distinguishing marks on their pages - or you can just tell that they were good because their pages look worn and used, with maybe a little flour around the edges or smudges that could be butter or splashes of olive oil or who knows what. I make notations, cross out ingredients or add them - occasionally I even write insightful things like "MMMMM" at the bottom.

This recipe for Pasta Fagiole Soup is on one of those well-worn pages with stars at the top.

Pasta Fagiole
2 cans navy beans, drained
6 c veg broth

1 T. olive oil

2 carrots, peeled and 1/4" diced
1 small spanish onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 celery stalks, 1/4" diced
1/2 lb green beans, trimmed & cut
3-4 roma tomatoes, diced

2 T tomato paste
1 c elbow macaroni

pesto
1/2 c parmesan cheese
salt & pepper to taste

Heat oil; add onion & garlic and cook until softened. Stir in the rest of the vegetables, cook 2-3 minutes. Add tomato paste, cook until bright red (about 30 seconds or so) & add broth.
Bring mixture to a full simmer, add macaroni & cook for 10 minutes. Add drained beans, season with salt & pepper.
Serve with a dollop of pesto and a sprinkling of cheese.

(Sometimes, when I'm feeling it, I throw a little bit of parmigiano regianno rind in while the broth is simmering for extra flavor. Just remember to fish it out before serving.)

5 comments:

Sara said...

I have to make this soon. I want a big bowl of it right now.

mamagotcha said...

MMMM, indeed! I made a big ol' pot of this stuff last Thursday, and now have several containers in the freezer. I used cannellini beans and threw in a bit of hot Italian sausage... I'm so ready for autumn and chilly nights with bowls of soup! We're going to be trick-or-treating in shorts and flip-flops if this balmy weather keeps up.

Dan said...

I made this on Sunday evening, and will be having more of it tonight. Quite nice! I substituted chopped spinach for the green beans, just because that was what I had, and it came out great. Thanks for the suggestion!

Chef JP said...

Great job on this recipe---this is a good time of the year to have a nice hearty soup such as this. Thanks!

Henry Maxwell said...

Okay, I finally got around to making this soup. I followed the recipe exactly, which is strange for me, and it turned out GREAT! Thanks!