Pasta Fagioli

My Nana was a pretty good home cook. Nothing fancy. Nothing adventurous. Just straight up good food. She was Italian - therefore everything that came out of her kitchen was also Italian. I don't remember her straying much from her Italian roots. And if she did, she'd often slap the word "Italian" in front of the name of the dish anyway which, of course, made it taste better.

I spent a bit of time with her throughout high school and college gathering some of her recipes. She never cooked much from recipes, but I did nudge her to jot down a few for some of my favorites like her meatballs, lentil soup and spumoni bars. Though interestingly enough, I'm not sure I ever came across Pasta Fagioli in her kitchen.

So I've channeled my inner Italian grandmother and crafted my own pot of Pasta Fagioli. What is Pasta Fagioli? Just a hearty soup combining pasta and beans among a handful of other veggies, herbs and spices. It's easy to throw together and even easier to eat!

Pasta Fagioli

Ingredients

· 2 tbsp olive oil

· ½ onion, diced fine

· 4 garlic cloves, minced

· 3 carrots, peeled and diced fine

· 1 celery stalk, diced fine

· 2 tbsp tomato paste

· 2 15oz cans cannellini beans, drained

· 1 15oz can petite diced tomatoes with their juices

· ½ tsp garlic powder

· ½ tsp dried parsley

· ½ tsp dried oregano

· ½ tsp dried basil

· 1 bay leaf

· 1 tsp salt

· ¼ tsp pepper

· 6 cups chicken stock

· 6oz ditalini or elbow pasta noodles

· 2 cup fresh spinach

· Pecorino romano cheese, for garnish

Heat olive oil in the bottom of a large soup pot or dutch oven over medium low heat. Add the onions, garlic, carrots and celery and sautee until the onions are translucent. Stir in the tomato paste and allow to fry for 1-2 minutes. Add the beans, tomatoes, herbs and spices to the pot. Stir in the chicken stock. Bring to a boil over medium high heat.

Simmer over low heat for at least 30 minutes. Keep warm until ready to serve.

When ready to serve, cook the pasta in an abundance of boiling, salted water per package instructions until al dente.

While the pasta cooks, stir the fresh spinach into the hot soup and allow to wilt.

Stir the cooked pasta noodles into the soup and serve immediately. Garnish with a healthy sprinkle of grated pecorino romano cheese.

Serves 4

Notes

If pasta is cooked directly in the soup or added to the soup too far in advance before serving, the pasta will absorb far too much of the broth and become mushy.

Gluten Free!

Swap the pasta for your favorite GF brand! I prefer Barilla.