Pasta Fagioli from ABC's The CHEW: What's for Dinner?"
Pasta Fagioli (fah-joe-lee) is an Italian soup that is even better the next day. It's great with prosciutto, which I had on hand. though the recipe in the book calls for 3 T of Pancetta. I also used sweet onion instead of Spanish, and substituted with beans I had on hand. As Mario Batali says, "...almost anything you think to add is fine."
Servings: 6 -8
Ingredients
- 5 tablespoons prosciutto diced
- 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup Italian parsley finely chopped, plus more for garnish
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 8 cups chicken stock
- 2 cups cooked kidney beans
- 2 cups cooked cannellini beans
- 3 cups broken lasagne noodles
- kosher salt
- black pepper
- grated parmesan for garnish
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven, heat the prosciutto and 2 tablespoons of oil over high heat until almost smoking.
- Add the parsley and onion, and cook, stirring, until the onion is browned and soft, about 5 minutes
- Stir in the tomato paste, reduce the heat to medium, and cook for 5 more minutes.
- Add the chicken stock and beans, and bring to a boil.
- Lower the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
- Add the pasta, and cook according to recipe on box, or about 15 minutes.
- Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.
- Divide the soup among 6 bowls.
- Garnish with cheese. (Garnishing with fresh parsley would also be good.)