Pasta e fagioli — pasta and white beans

pareve Italian · regular · 145 min, including 40 hands-on

A thick, hearty soup of tender cannellini cooked with garlic, bay and rosemary. A third of the beans are mashed to thicken the broth in which a modest amount of ditalini cooks, then rosemary, garlic and chilli oil is poured over to bring it to life.

easy version

Ingredients for two

Method

1. The day before, rinse the beans and cover with 1 litre cold water in a large bowl. Soak in the fridge for 12 hours until doubled in volume. The next day, discard the water and rinse the beans.
2. Put the beans in a 3-litre saucepan with 1,800 g water, 8 g salt, one whole peeled garlic clove, the 5 g rosemary sprig and 2 bay leaves. Salting soaked beans from the start does not prevent them cooking; it seasons them through. Bring to a simmer over a medium heat, skim, then reduce to very low and simmer partially covered for 60–90 minutes. Never boil hard, as this splits the cannellini skins. After about 40 minutes, top up with 200–300 g hot water to keep the beans covered. They are ready when they crush to a cream between tongue and palate, without a firm, floury centre.
3. After 50 minutes of simmering, taste a bean. If it already yields when bitten, start the soffritto; otherwise, taste every 10 minutes. Cut the onion, carrot and celery into 3 mm dice and chop the second garlic clove. Heat 20 g oil in a 24 cm casserole over a medium-low heat and soften the three vegetables with 1 g salt for 10 minutes, stirring, until tender and lightly golden.
4. Add the chopped garlic and stir for 30 seconds, then add the tomato purée. Cook over a medium heat for 2 minutes, stirring until brick-red and glossy. Turn off the heat under the casserole. Remove the rosemary and bay from the beans. Put a third of the beans, about 160 g, and the cooked garlic clove into a bowl with 100 g bean broth and mash roughly with a fork or potato masher.
5. Add the mashed beans, whole beans and 650 g broth to the casserole, keeping the remaining broth hot nearby. Add 3 g salt and the pepper, return to a medium heat and simmer for 3 minutes. The base should be fluid, as the pasta will absorb liquid. Taste and adjust the salt: the broth should be well seasoned, as the pasta will dilute it.
6. Add the ditalini and cook over a medium-low heat for the packet time plus 1–3 minutes, usually 11–13 minutes; pasta cooks more slowly in thick broth than in water. Stir right down to the bottom every 2 minutes. If the spoon leaves a dry trail, add reserved broth in 100 g ladlefuls, then hot water once the broth runs out. The pasta should be tender and the soup creamy but still slightly flowing.
7. Turn off the heat, cover and rest for 3 minutes. Meanwhile, make the rosemary oil: gently heat the remaining 20 g oil in a small saucepan with the 3 g rosemary sprig, the third garlic clove crushed under the heel of your hand and the pinch of chilli for 1 minute, until sizzling and the garlic is pale golden. Turn off immediately.
8. Serve in two shallow bowls. If resting has thickened the soup too much, add 50 g hot broth; it should spread slowly across the bowl. Pour over the rosemary oil, strained to remove the sprig and garlic.

On your plate

Cooking tips

The 145 minutes include cooking and preparation on the day; soak for 12 hours the day before. Older beans may take longer; do not add pasta until they are truly tender. The broth is eaten, so salt it from the start with 8 g for 1.8 litres, then taste before adding pasta. To make the base the day before, stop before adding ditalini; cool, refrigerate, then cook the pasta in the reheated base. For a dairy dinner, in Naples as in Tuscany, grate 15 g Parmesan or pecorino romano over each bowl. Without it, the recipe stays pareve and the rosemary oil provides enough flavour. The Venetian version uses Lamon borlotti passed through a food mill, with a splash of vinegar to serve. Reheat leftovers gently with 100 g water per portion, or eat cold, Roman style, with a drizzle of oil.

Equipment : mixing bowl, 3-litre saucepan, 24 cm casserole, bowl, potato masher or fork, ladle, small saucepan

Neapolitan pasta e fagioli, a lean version without pork rind, with cannellini and ditalini and a Tuscan rosemary-oil finish.