Pasta and Bean Soup
During the cold, snowy, frigid winter months, we need to look to dishes that can warm us up, deliver on deep, complex flavor, and also be an ideal make-ahead dish that we can reheat as we please throughout the week.
This recipe for ribbon pasta and bean soup hits all of those notes with the use of tomatoes, pancetta, veggies, and a bit of rosemary for a hearty, comforting, delicious soup that can be made by anyone.
Pasta and Bean Soup
Serves 6 (or 4 if you’re really hungry)
5 ounces of dried cranberry beans (or pinto beans), or 10 ounces of canned pinto beans
4 ounces of diced pancetta (thick cut if possible)
two tablespoons of olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
14 oz of canned tomato puree
3 bay leaves
2 tablespoons of dried rosemary leaves, crushed into a powder
12 oz of Taglioli or other short ribbon-shaped pasta (You could even take some fettuccine and break it into bite-sized pieces, just don’t tell anyone who’s Italian.)
Salt
Grated parmesan, for topping
(Skip steps 1 and 2 if you’re using canned beans.)
If you’re using dried beans, place the beans in a bowl and cover them with cold water. Add a bit of salt, then let the beans soak for at least 8 hours, overnight would be better.
To cook, dump the beans, their soaking liquid, and enough water to cover the beans by a few inches into a saucepan. Bring that to a boil, then let it simmer for 45 minutes to an hour, depending on how old the beans are, until the beans are tender.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta. When the beans are cooked or close to being cooked, heat the olive oil and pancetta in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-low and cook until the pancetta is browned and its fat has rendered. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Add the onion, carrot, and garlic to the residual pancetta fat, then cook for another 5 minutes, or until the veggies are starting to brown. Drain the beans of their liquid, then add to the pot along with the tomatoes, bay leaves, and rosemary. Add a touch of salt, then let everything simmer for 10 minutes.
(I realize that it doesn’t look much like a soup at this point, more so a pot of tomato sauce with some beans in it, but trust the process and I promise you we will have soup in the end.)
Cook the pasta according to the directions for al dente, about 7-9 minutes. Reserve about 1 1/2 cups of the pasta cooking water then drain. Toss the bean mixture with the pasta, then add enough pasta water until you get a somewhat thick broth, I like having it be the consistency of classic tomato soup, but that’s up to you.
