Pasta e fagioli — pasta and white beans
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.
Method
- Rinse and drain the 480 g beans. Mash 160 g in a bowl with a fork or potato masher and 100 g hot water. Cut the onion, carrot and celery into 3 mm dice. Chop two garlic cloves and reserve the third for the rosemary oil.
- Heat 20 g oil in a 24 cm casserole. Soften the onion, carrot and celery with 1 g salt over a medium-low heat for 8 minutes, stirring until tender. Add the chopped garlic for 30 seconds, then the tomato purée for 2 minutes, stirring until darker and glossy.
- Add the mashed and whole beans, bay leaves, 5 g rosemary sprig, 800 g hot water, 4 g salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook gently for 5 minutes to let the aromatics flavour the broth. Taste and adjust the salt: the broth should be well seasoned, as the pasta will dilute it.
- Remove the rosemary and bay. Add the ditalini and cook over a medium-low heat for 10–12 minutes, allowing the packet time plus 1–2 minutes, then tasting. Stir right down to the bottom every 2 minutes. Add 50 g hot water if the mixture becomes pasty before the pasta is tender.
- Turn off the heat, cover and rest for 3 minutes. Meanwhile, 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. Loosen the soup with a spoonful of water if needed, serve in shallow bowls and pour over the strained rosemary oil. The dish should stay creamy and slightly flowing.
The evening version, without soaking: soffritto, mashed beans and rosemary oil give body and depth without a stock cube.
Lighter version
- Ditalini (small tubular soup pasta) : 120 g
- Extra virgin olive oil : 25 g
In step 3, use 15 g oil instead of 20 g for the soffritto.
In step 7, make the rosemary oil with 10 g oil instead of 20 g. Keep this finishing touch.
60 g pasta per person and 1 1/2 tbsp less oil: the same soup, with a little more broth and beans in each bowl.
On your plate
Recipe
756 kcal · protein 30 g · carbs 102 g · fat 24 g
Quantities per person
- 100 g Dried white beans, for loubia
- 75 g Ditalini (small tubular soup pasta)
- 35 g Yellow onions
- 30 g Carrots
- 30 g Celery
- 7.5 g Garlic
- 4 g Fresh rosemary
- 0.3 g Dried bay leaves
- 10 g Double-concentrated tomato purée
- 20 g Extra virgin olive oil
- 0.25 g Hot red chilli powder
- 1050 g Water
- 6 g Fine salt
- 0.25 g Ground black pepper
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.
Neapolitan pasta e fagioli, a lean version without pork rind, with cannellini and ditalini and a Tuscan rosemary-oil finish.
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