Pasta Fazool Soup (Pasta e Fagioli)
Here's an authentic recipe for pasta fazool, from my Italian family to yours. This hearty pasta e fagioli is a rustic, authentic Italian bean soup that's easy to make. With with vegetables, cannellini beans, and fragrant rosemary. Though it takes longer, I vastly prefer the use of dried beans for this soup than canned, but you can substitute as you like.
Servings: 4 quarts
Ingredients
For the Soup
- 1 pound dried cannellini beans
- 2 teaspoons baking soda (only if using dried beans)
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 1 pound carrots, peeled and diced
- 1 head celery, diced
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3 large garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, minced
- 1 tablespoon Kosher salt, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons butter (optional)
To Finish and Serve
- 1/2 pound ditalini or other small pasta (such as elbow macaroni), cooked al dente
- Grated Pecorino-Romano or parmesan cheese
- Minced fresh parsley and red pepper flakes, optional
Instructions
To Cook the Cannellini Beans
- In a large stock pot, cover the cannellini beans with about three quarts of water. Add the baking soda, bay leaves, and thyme. PRO TIP: Pasta fazool does not require any chicken broth. But if you would like to add some chicken flavor, feel free to add a quart of unsalted chicken broth in place of a quart of water.
- Bring the bean liquid to a boil over medium-high heat (careful -- it may foam). Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, until the beans are fully softened, approximately 1 hour, maybe a little more. Stir occasionally.TIP: For the true bean nerd in search of soup extra credit, Serious Eats did a fascinating and highly-scientific look at when and why to salt dried beans. PRO TIP: A substitute for cannellini beans would be borlotti beans (cranberry beans).
To Make the Soup
- Add the carrots, celery, onion, garlic cloves, tomato paste, salt, and rosemary. Check the water level; you may need to add some more if there is not enough broth. Bring to a boil, then simmer, partially covered, until the vegetables are soft and the soup has come together, about 30 to 45 minutes minutes. Stir occasionally. Now is a nice time to separately cook your ditalini pasta or elbow macaroni, if adding. TIP: If you are substituting canned beans instead of dried, add the beans, drained, to the soup pot once the vegetables, tomato paste, thyme, bay leaves, and rosemary have finished cooking in about 2 1/2 quarts of water, for about 30 minutes.
To Serve the Pasta Fazool
- Check the pasta fagioli seasoning and add red pepper flakes if desired. Stir in the butter (if adding), red wine vinegar, and cooked pasta. Ladle into bowls, top with grated cheese such as Pecorino-Romano or parmesan cheese, a little parsley, black pepper, or a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, if desired.PRO TIP: This soup should be fairly thick. But if you'd like to make the texture even creamier, you can pulse about 1/4 of the soup with an immersion blender to thicken the broth.
Notes
This soup keeps well in the refrigerator for about three days in an airtight container. You may want to add a bit of water to loosen the pasta fazool when you reheat, since the beans will continue to congeal the soup after cooking.
Pasta fazool also keeps well in the freezer for up to four months.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information is provided for courtesy purposes only, and is an estimate not verified by medical or nutrition experts. Read the full nutrition disclaimer.
