Pasta e Fagioli - Bologna Style
A hearty and delicious soup, in addition to being nutritious, we love our Pasta e Faglioli soup. Literally meaning, pasta and beans, every Italian region has their own version of pasta e fagioli.
In Bologna it is traditionally made with borlotti beans, pancetta (pork), garlic and rosemary. You can, however, leave out the pork, I often do - and instead add small pieces of Parmigiano Reggiano rind and it is so tasty that no one at home notices!
In Bologna, we add egg pasta to our soup, generally the maltagliati (it literally means “poorly cut”) which often are the leftover bits or rimasugli of your pasta making. If you don’t have any, then some quadrucci, little squares, are perfect.
Below you’ll find
RECIPE - ABOUT INGREDIENTS - TIPS - TOOLS
It is so easy you don’t really need a recipe but if you’ve never made it before, here is what I do:
Ingredients
340 grams dried beans or 2-3 cans borlotti (pink beans)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
A large clove fresh garlic
A sprig of fresh, healthy rosemary but dried rosemary will do in a pinch.
100g or 3oz fresh pancetta, cubed (optional)
water
salt &pepper
100-200g of egg pasta maltagliati
bits of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese rind (optional)
Method
soak beans overnight if using dried or drain liquid from canned beans
cook dried beans following package directions
peel and smash garlic and place in large enough pot with a generous swirl of extra virgin olive oil
remove leaves off rosemary sprig and add to pot with garlic and oil
add cubed pancetta to pot, if using
saute’ items in pot over medium -low heat for a 3-5 minutes; remove garlic and raise the heat to medium until pancetta begins to brown, stirring once in a while - it smells really good, doesn’t it?
add cooked beans and enough water to cover beans, continuing to cook for about 20 minutes. The beans should be at a low simmer.
Remove the pot from heat and remove several tablespoons of the beans and set aside.
Taste and adjust with salt & pepper to taste.
Using a submergible hand blender, whir everything in the pot to obtain a cream. You can also smash the beans with a potato masher or fork.
If the cream seems too thick, add some water to thin out to your liking. Consider that the soup will thicken when the pasta absorbs moisture from the soup.
Put the pot over medium heat, add the beans you set aside and if using, add the pieces of Parmigiano Reggiano rind into the soup.
Add the pasta, stir and keep over heat until pasta is done. The time largely depends on the type of pasta used (dried egg pasta can take 5 minutes vs. fresh egg dough will take 2-3 minutes). Taste to be certain of doneness.
Pour the soup into bowls and if you like, add a nice swirl of extra tasty extra virgin olive oil and freshly cracked pepper over each bowl of steaming hot soup.
Tips
Although I prefer to use dried beans for this soup, I always have canned beans in my pantry so I can quickly prepare this soup.
It is very easy to make the soup vegetarian or vegan. To make this soup vegetarian, omit the pancetta.
To make this soup vegan, omit the pancetta and cheese, add a bit more rosemary and 1 more garlic clove. Use hard wheat pasta instead of egg pasta.
This soup is earth-friendly and sustainable. It uses foodstuffs that some people would throw out: remnants of pasta making (freeze or dry your leftover bits) and pieces of Parmigiano Reggiano rind which has no wax (cut into bite sized pieces and freeze).
Tools
A summergible hand blender is very helpful
