Pasta e Fagioli (Italian White Bean & Pasta Soup)
The classic Italian cupboard soup — cannellini beans and small pasta in a rosemary-scented tomato broth, half of it blended for body so it's silky without a drop of cream.
Best for high-fiber · plant-protein comfort soup
Pasta e fagioli is peasant cooking at its smartest: beans, a little pasta, a soffritto and whatever's in the pantry, turned into something deeply savory. Blending part of the beans gives it that velvety, almost creamy texture that makes people ask what's in it — the answer is nothing but beans. It's cheap, filling, high in fiber and plant protein, and it tastes better on day two. A grating of parmesan and a swirl of good olive oil at the table are all it needs.
Ingredients
- 30 ml olive oil , plus more to serve
- 1 piece onion , finely chopped
- 1 piece carrots , finely diced
- 2 stalk celery sticks , finely diced
- 3 clove garlic cloves , minced
- 30 g tomato paste
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 720 g cannellini beans , drained and rinsed (3 tins)
- 200 g chopped tomatoes
- 900 ml vegetable stock
- 120 g small pasta
- 30 g Parmesan , grated, to serve (or vegetarian hard cheese)
- 5 g fine sea salt
- 1 g black pepper , freshly ground
Instructions
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1
Warm the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot and celery with a pinch of salt and cook, stirring now and then, until softened and sweet, 8–10 minutes. Stir in the garlic, tomato paste and rosemary and cook 1–2 minutes more until it smells rich.
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2
Add the chopped tomatoes and the beans, then pour in the stock. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook 10 minutes to let the flavors come together.
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3
Scoop out about a third of the soup (mostly beans and liquid, discard the rosemary stem) and blend it smooth with a stick blender or in a jug blender, then stir it back in. This is what makes it creamy without any cream.
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4
Stir in the pasta and simmer, stirring occasionally so it doesn't catch, until al dente, 9–11 minutes. Add a splash more stock or water if it gets too thick.
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5
Season to taste with salt and plenty of black pepper.
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6
Ladle into bowls and finish each with grated parmesan, a grind of pepper and a generous swirl of olive oil.