Pasta Fagioli

 

Makes 6–8 servings

Ingredients

• 2 cups dry cannellini beans (see note below)
• 7 cups of water
• 1 cup finely diced yellow onion
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 slices pancetta, chopped
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1½ cups uncooked ditalini
• 2 teaspoons fresh minced rosemary
• Parmesan
• Pesto

Note: If you cannot find cannellini beans, Great northern beans are a good substitute. Don’t use navy beans.

Instructions

1. First, sort and wash your beans. What do I mean? Spread them out on a cookie sheet and pick through them, looking for rocks, small clumps of dirt, or shriveled beans. Trust me, you don’t want to have those things in your soup. Beans are not washed when they are harvested. Any moisture would cause them to mold, so after sorting, please wash your beans to remove the field dust.
2. Place the beans and water in a crockpot (slow cooker). Cook on high for 4 hours. After 4 hours, the beans should be perfectly tender but not mushy. They should be intact but creamy on the inside.
3. Place the onion and olive oil in a stockpot or large pot with a lid. Cook over low heat for 10 minutes. Add the minced garlic and pancetta. Stir and continue to cook over low heat until the onions are soft and golden, the garlic is fragrant and gently colored, and the pancetta is beginning to crisp. (Note that it will continue to cook in the soup).
4. Add the broth to the pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
5. Stir in the pasta; reduce the heat to medium-low (just enough to maintain a gentle simmer). Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package, stirring occasionally until done.
6. Add the rosemary and the cooked beans to the pot (there should be very little residual cooking water).
7. Reduce the heat to low; stir to combine and allow to simmer together for a few minutes for the flavors to meld. The mixture will be very thick.
8. Serve in bowls; garnish with pesto and/or grated Parmesan if desired.