Last night it was cold, and I lost my hat, and I was super tired from staying up until 1 am the night before, and I really, really wanted soup. Good soup. Hearty, filling, not-from-a-can soup, and I wanted it quick. Nothing complicated, or time-consuming, or that would make me stand over a stove for a long time. This soup exactly fit the bill.
I think it’s a pretty traditional Pasta e Fagioli, but in my cursory research, I couldn’t really find a definitive Pasta e Fagioli reference. I figure, though, that it contains both Pasta and Fagioli, so that’s close enough for me. Plus, since I got the recipe from Eating Well, it’s even good for me and stuff. Of course I ended up with way more than I expected, so I’ll be eating this for a few days, but no matter, it is good. And warming. And full of vegetables and good stuff. Did I mention that it was also easy?
Pasta e Fagioli
(adapted from a recipe from Eating Well magazine)
- 1 1/2 c. chicken stock (or broth; I used a combination of both)
- 1-2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 1 sprig of rosemary
- 1 15-oz. can of diced tomatoes
- 1 15-oz. can of cannellini beans
- 1 c. pasta (I used elbow macaroni)
- 1-2 c. frozen spinach
- 3/4 c. frozen peas
Of course, in recreating the recipe last night, I didn’t look at the original, and I wish that I had. I left out some things that I think would have been tasty, like crushed red peppers. Ahh well, this was still good.
In a large soup pot, heat the chicken broth, garlic, and rosemary, and let it simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes. You want to keep the rosemary sprig and the garlic intact, so you can fish them out more easily later on. While the broth is simmering, mash about a cup of the beans, with the back of a spoon or a fork or something. A fork would have worked better, but I was cold and not thinking well.
Remove the garlic and the rosemary from the broth with a slotted spoon, and add in everything else: tomatoes, mashed beans, the remaining whole beans, pasta, spinach, and peas. Bring the mixture to a boil, and break up the spinach a bit as it starts to thaw in the pot. I also cut up the boiled garlic clove and added it back in. Cover the pot, and let it all cook for another 15 minutes.
That was so crazy easy, and now you have warming healthy soup. Mmmm, as you can see, a beer, a book, and bowl of pasta e fagioli last night was the perfect, perfect dinner. It almost made me less sad about my hat.