Pasta e fagioli, a vegetarian recipe from Italy

Name: Pasta e fagioli
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Italy
Ingredients: 2 tins borlotti beans (800 g), drained; 150 g small pasta (ditalini or tubetti); 1 onion, finely chopped; 1 carrot, cut into small dice; 1 celery stick, cut into small dice; 3 garlic cloves, crushed; 2 sprigs rosemary; 2 tbsp tomato purée; 200 g chopped tomatoes; 1 litre vegetable stock; 4 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to serve; Salt, black pepper and chilli flakes

Method

Heat the oil in a large pan and sweat the onion, carrot and celery over medium heat for 8 minutes without browning.
Add the garlic and rosemary, let them sizzle for 1 minute, then stir in the tomato purée and cook it out for 2 minutes.
Pour in the chopped tomatoes, beans and stock. Bring to the boil, then simmer covered for 15 minutes.
Fish out the rosemary sprigs. Scoop out two ladlefuls of soup, blend them and stir them back in to thicken the base.
Add the pasta and cook at a gentle boil, stirring often, until al dente, 8 to 10 minutes. Add a splash of water if the soup gets too thick.
Season with salt and pepper and rest off the heat for 5 minutes.
Serve in deep bowls with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of chilli flakes.

This Italian farmhouse soup thickens as it cools. The next day, loosen it with a little hot water and it will taste even better.

The techniques this recipe uses

Sweat the aromatics
Medium heat, no browning: the onion should turn translucent and sweet, not toasted.
Reduce
Uncovered, water leaves and flavour concentrates. It is done when the sauce coats the back of a spoon.

Frequently asked questions

Why blend only two ladlefuls of the soup?

That is what gives the right texture: a creamy part that coats everything, and whole beans that still have bite. Blending it all would give a uniform purée, and blending none would leave a thin broth with ingredients floating in it.

Can I cook the pasta separately?

Yes, and it is worth doing if you expect leftovers, since pasta cooked in the soup keeps swelling and drinking the liquid. Cooked in the soup, though, it releases starch that thickens it pleasantly.

What if the soup is too thick the next day?

That is normal: beans and pasta absorb liquid as they cool. Reheat gently, loosening with a little hot water or stock, then check the salt, which will have been diluted.

Mediterranean diet: a way of building a plate

What actually defines the Mediterranean diet beyond the folklore, illustrated with real dishes from Greece, Italy, Spain, Lebanon and Morocco.

Italian vegetarian cooking, the cucina povera way

Why the everyday repertoire of the Italian countryside does without meat, how to bind a sauce with pasta water, and what stale bread can do.

Mexican vegetarian cooking: maize, beans, chilli

What the milpa and nixtamalisation bring to a meatless meal, how dry charring builds a sauce, and what the Spanish added to the repertoire.

Pasta e fagioli

Method

The techniques this recipe uses

This recipe also appears in

Nutrition per serving

Frequently asked questions

Read more

Have you cooked this dish?

More recipes from Italy

Minestrone

Gnocchi with sage butter

Tiramisu

Recipes in the same spirit