Pasta e fagioli
An Italian soup of the poor kitchen where everything turns on one decision: half the beans are blended, half left whole. The blended half gives creaminess without cream; the whole half gives structure. The second rule concerns the pasta: it cooks in the soup, not separately, because the starch it releases thickens the whole thing. The dish is so popular in Italy that almost every region has its own version and considers it the only correct one.
Your own work in that: 0 min.
- Soaking the beans 720 min
- Cooking the beans 70 min
- Soffritto 20 min
- Pasta 15 min
Step by step
0 / 7 doneCook the beans with rosemary
Cover the soaked beans with water, add the rosemary, garlic and bay and simmer 60–70 minutes over low heat, until the beans are completely tender. Hold off on the salt — the pancetta and parmesan rind will season the soup too, so it is easier to salt at the end.
Ingredients: 350 g borlotti beans · 2000 ml water · 2 pcs rosemary · 3 cloves garlic · 2 pcs bay leaves
Cooked until fully tender — salt only at the end.Fry the pancetta and vegetables
In a second pot fry the pancetta in the oil (about 5 minutes), add the finely chopped onion, carrot and celery and sweat 15 minutes over low heat — about 20 minutes in all. This Italian soffritto is the base of the flavour — do not rush it, the vegetables should soften, not brown.
Ingredients: 100 g pancetta · 1 pcs onion · 1 pcs carrot · 2 pcs celery · 4 tbsp olive oil · 2 tbsp tomato paste · 1 pcs parmesan rind · 2 tsp salt
Add tomato paste and a parmesan rind
Stir in the tomato paste and fry 2 minutes, until it darkens, then drop in the parmesan rind. The rind is an Italian habit worth keeping: it gives up umami throughout the cooking.
Ingredients: 100 g pancetta · 1 pcs onion · 1 pcs carrot · 2 pcs celery · 4 tbsp olive oil · 2 tbsp tomato paste · 1 pcs parmesan rind · 2 tsp salt
Blend half the beans
Tip half the beans with their liquid into a blender and blitz smooth, then return them to the pot with the rest. This step gives the soup its creaminess — with no cream, no flour, and without blending everything, which would give a uniform purée.
Ingredients: 350 g borlotti beans · 2000 ml water · 2 pcs rosemary · 3 cloves garlic · 2 pcs bay leaves
Half smooth, half whole — that gives the texture.Combine the beans with the soffritto
Pour the beans into the pot with the vegetables, season with salt and cook 10 minutes. Only now does the salt go in — the pancetta and parmesan have given up their saltiness, so it is easy to judge how much is missing, and the soup needs firm seasoning.
Ingredients: 100 g pancetta · 1 pcs onion · 1 pcs carrot · 2 pcs celery · 4 tbsp olive oil · 2 tbsp tomato paste · 1 pcs parmesan rind · 2 tsp salt
Cook the pasta in the soup
Add the pasta and cook for the time on the packet (usually 10–12 minutes), stirring often. Cooked in the soup it releases starch and thickens it — that is intended. Stir, because at this thickness pasta easily catches on the base.
Ingredients: 250 g pasta · 60 g parmesan · 4 tbsp olive oil · 1 tsp black pepper
The pasta cooks in the soup and thickens it.Serve with oil and pepper
Remove the parmesan rind and rosemary sprigs, ladle into bowls and pour over raw olive oil generously, then scatter with parmesan and freshly ground pepper. That raw oil is an important part of the flavour, not a garnish.
Ingredients: 250 g pasta · 60 g parmesan · 4 tbsp olive oil · 1 tsp black pepper
Before you start
The consistency is contested
In some homes pasta e fagioli is as thick as a stew, in others looser, like an ordinary soup. Both are correct — adjust the liquid to your own taste, adding boiling water at the end.
The vegetarian version
Leave out the pancetta and add an extra spoonful of tomato paste plus a dried mushroom to the bean pot. The parmesan rind still gives umami; without it, add a teaspoon of miso, though that is a solution from outside this kitchen.
Pasta apart for the second day
The soup thickens in the fridge and the pasta softens in it. If you plan to reheat, cook the pasta separately and add it in the bowl — the soup alone keeps three days and is better for it.
