Pasta e Fagioli - Italian borlotti bean & pasta soup

This is the kind of Italian cooking I love most — humble ingredients, slowly cooked, comforting and made even more special with a generous drizzle of your best extra virgin olive oil at the end. Pasta e fagioli sits somewhere between a soup and a stew, and it should be thick, nourishing and full of flavour. It is also a beautiful way to bring a variety of vegetables, beans and nourishment into your everyday cooking.

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Course: Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine: Italian

Diet: Vegetarian

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 35

Servings:

Calories: 423kcal

Author: Nellie Kerrison | Relish Mama

Cost: $15

Equipment

Large heavy-based saucepan or stockpot
Chopping board
Sharp knife
Wooden spoon
Ladle
Stick blender or blender, optional

Ingredients

800 g
borlotti beans 
2 x 400 g tins of borlotti beans (or or 250 g dried borlotti beans soaked overnight)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil plus extra to serve
1 onion diced
2 celery stalks diced
1 carrot diced
½ small fennel bulb finely chopped, fronds reserved for serving
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
1 sprig rosemary
1 bay leaf
2 sage leaves optional
1.25 litres vegetable stock plus extra if needed
120 g small pasta such as ditalini or small macaroni
100 g Cavalo Nero (Tuscan Kale), spin removed and chopped or you could use baby spinach leaves
Sea salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
Parmigiano rind optional but wonderful
Grated parmigiano optional, to serve

Instructions

If using dried borlotti beans, soak them overnight in plenty of cold water. The next day, drain and rinse well.
If using tinned beans, drain and rinse one tin of beans. Use the second tin with its liquid, as this helps give the soup a lovely creamy texture.
Warm the olive oil in a large heavy-based saucepan over low–medium heat. Add the onion, celery, carrot and fennel and cook gently for around 12–15 minutes, stirring often, until soft and aromatic but not browned.
Add the garlic, rosemary, bay leaf and sage, if using, and cook for another minute, stirring.
Add the beans and stir to coat them well in the vegetables and oil. Pour in the stock and add the parmigiano rind, if using. Bring to a gentle simmer, then reduce the heat and cook for around 20 minutes if using tinned beans.
If using dried beans that have been soaked overnight, simmer gently for around 1–1½ hours, or until the beans are tender. Add salt once the beans have started to soften.
When the beans are tender, remove the bay leaf, rosemary stalk and parmigiano rind. This next step is optional but it does give the soup a beautiful texture. Take out a few ladlefuls of the soup and blend until smooth, or simply crush some of the beans against the side of the pot with the back of a spoon. Stir this back through the soup. This gives pasta e fagioli that beautiful creamy texture without adding cream.
Add the pasta and cook until al dente. Small pasta usually takes around 6–8 minutes. Stir often so the pasta does not catch on the bottom of the pot. Add a little extra stock or water if the soup becomes too thick. It should be hearty and spoonable, not dry.
Stir through the Cavalo Nero.
Taste and adjust the seasoning. Ladle into bowls and finish with a generous drizzle of your best extra virgin olive oil, a little black pepper, fennel fronds if you have them, and grated parmigiano if you like.

Notes

Nellie’s note
The olive oil really matters here. This is a simple dish, so the final drizzle of good extra virgin olive oil brings everything together and makes it sing. I have used Ravida extra virgin olive oil. We visited Ravida Estate on our very recent trip to Sicily and it is magnificent.

Pasta e fagioli is also even better after sitting for a little while, so don’t worry if it thickens. Just loosen it with a splash of water or stock when reheating.

Nutrition