Pasta e Fagioli with Borlotti Beans
For the uninitiated, pasta e fagioli is Italian for pasta and beans. I assume most people already know this as it’s the rare Italian restaurant that doesn’t have a version of this wonderful soup on its menu.
Now, I have a question for you—do you have any idea how many different recipes there are for pasta e fagioli? Neither do I! If I had to guess, I’d say there are probably hundreds—if not thousands—of versions of this soul-satisfying soup. My own mother made at least a dozen different pasta e fagioli when I was growing up. I loved every one of them.
In Italy, the soup varies from region to region. Really, the only criteria for the soup is that it has both pasta and beans in it. Usually there’s an onion as part of the base—but, from there, the sky’s the limit on what other vegetables or beans are used to make it. If there are any tomatoes in it, they might be diced or appear as tomato sauce or tomato paste. The pasta e fagioli might be thin and soupy or thick and hearty. Sometimes, a portion of the soup is removed and puréed in a blender before being returned to the pot to thicken it up.
Recently, I made a version that Kenji posted on Serious Eats. His recipes are always fabulous but tend to be on the labor-intensive side of things. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this was reasonably easy and simply delicious.
If you, too, are a lover of legumes, I highly recommend this frantastic version of pasta e fagioli.
Pasta e Fagioli with Borlotti Beans
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried beans, such as cranberry (borlotti) beans or cannellini beans, soaked overnight in salted water (see notes)
- Kosher or sea salt
- 6 large cloves of garlic, peeled and lightly crushed
- 1 large onion, peeled and halved
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and halved crosswise
- 2 ribs celery, halved crosswise
- 3 large sprigs fresh rosemary and/or sage*
- 1/2 pound small pasta, such as ditalini or small shells
- Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
- Freshly ground black pepper
*Keep an eye on the rosemary. I left mine in too long, and all the leaves fell off. Next time, I plan to take out the sprigs early or put the rosemary into a mesh bag for easy removal.
Directions
In a large pot, cover beans with lightly salted water by at least 2 inches. Add garlic, onion, carrots, celery, and rosemary or sage.
Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to a bare simmer and cook, covered, until beans are very tender and creamy with no graininess left, 45 to 90 minutes, depending on type of bean. Discard onions, garlic, carrots, celery, and herbs. Drain beans, reserving beans and liquid separately. You should have about 6 cups of cooked beans.
Measure out 3 cups of cooked beans, setting the remaining beans (approximately 3 cups) aside. In a blender, combine the 3 cups of beans with 4 cups bean-cooking water and blend until completely smooth.
Return bean purée to pot and add reserved cooked beans.
In a small pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta until just al dente. Drain, then transfer to a bowl or container and drizzle with a small amount of olive oil, tossing to lightly coat.
When ready to serve, bring to a simmer, thinning with additional bean-cooking water until soup reaches a lightly creamy consistency. Season with salt, if needed. Spoon in cooked pasta and simmer just until warmed through. Serve right away, drizzling fresh olive oil on top and a generous grinding of black pepper.
Notes
Instead of being soaked overnight, beans can also be prepared using the quick-soak method. Cover with water in a large pot, bring to a boil, remove from heat, and let rest for 1 hour. Drain and proceed with the recipe as directed.
Storage
Soup and pasta can be refrigerated separately for up to 3 days. Combine only combine as much pasta and soup as you plan to serve at any given time, as pasta left to stand in the soup any longer than necessary will expand and become mushy while sucking up the liquid.
Source: Another great recipe from Serious Eats