Pasta and Bean Soup

Name: Pasta and Bean Soup
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: american
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons olive oil; 1/4 pound prosciutto di Parma, in medium dice (double smoked bacon can be substituted); 1 small carrot in small dice; 1 small Spanish onion in small dice; 1 stalk celery, in small dice; 2 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled; Coarse salt; Freshly ground black pepper; 1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste; 1 quart store-bought reduced-sodium vegetable broth or homemade vegetable stock; 2 medium baking potatoes, peeled; 1 1-pound 13-ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained; 1 cup ditalini pasta, cooked and drained; 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary; Pinch crushed red pepper; 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, more for sprinkling; Extra virgin olive oil

Recipe from 'Tom Valenti's Soups, Stews and One-Pot Meals''

Adapted by Alex Witchel

Pasta and Bean Soup — Don Hogan Charles/The New York Times

Total Time: 40 minutes
Rating: 5(309)
Comments: Read comments

The chef Tom Valenti channels his late grandmother in his cooking, utilizing her ''stove top approach to life'' by braising and stewing and slow cooking the kinds of food that snowstorms were made for. Her pasta and bean soup, a treat for carb-lovers with its addition of mashed potatoes to thicken the broth, was one of many old-country comfort foods that she fed Mr. Valenti during his childhood. —Alex Witchel

Featured in: For Grandma, With Amore

or to save this recipe.
Subscriber benefit: give recipes to anyone
As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.
Subscribe
Share
Print Options
Include recipe photo

Ingredients

Yield:8 servings

2tablespoons olive oil
¼pound prosciutto di Parma, in medium dice (double smoked bacon can be substituted)
1small carrot in small dice
1small Spanish onion in small dice
1stalk celery, in small dice
2cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
Coarse salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1heaping tablespoon tomato paste
1quart store-bought reduced-sodium vegetable broth or homemade vegetable stock
2medium baking potatoes, peeled
11-pound 13-ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1cup ditalini pasta, cooked and drained
1tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
Pinch crushed red pepper
¼cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, more for sprinkling
Extra virgin olive oil

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.

Preparation

Step 1
Heat olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add prosciutto and cook, stirring, until prosciutto begins to render its fat, about 4 minutes.
Step 2
Add carrot, onion, celery and garlic. Season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until softened but not browned, about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste, stir to coat other ingredients, and cook for 2 minutes. Add broth, one quart water and potatoes. Raise heat to high and bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer until potatoes are very soft, about 25 minutes. Transfer potatoes to a bowl and mash them.
Step 3
Return potatoes to pot and stir them into soup. If not serving immediately, let cool, cover and refrigerate for a few days or freeze for up to 1 month. Reheat before proceeding.
Step 4
Add beans and pasta. Cook over medium heat until beans are warmed through, about 5 minutes. Stir in rosemary, crushed red pepper and cheese. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, if necessary.
Step 5
To serve, ladle some soup into each of 8 bowls. Top with more cheese and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Ratings

5 out of 5

309 user ratings

Have you cooked this?

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Comments

Deborah B.7 years ago

Delicious! Not sure who's timing these recipes, but this took well over an hour to make. Also, the potatoes, left whole as described, were nowhere near soft after 25 minutes at a rolling boil. Either cook them longer, or cut them into chunks.

Emily4 years ago

This was exactly what I was hoping it would be. I omitted the potatoes as they seemed unnecessary and I didn't want to wait for them to cook. I added the dry pasta at the end with the beans and the soup thickened perfectly once the pasta was cooked and the cheese added. Totally delicious.

Lauren4 years ago

This was a huge hit. We're no strangers to bean soups, but the prosciutto and mashed potato took this one up a notch. I used dried presoaked beans, so the simmer time was an hour. I cut the potatoes in half and they were perfect at the 25 minute mark. I cooked the pasta in the broth and then added the mashed potato back in at the end. The only real change I made was a few handfuls of Red Russian kale in the last few minutes because my garden is exploding with it and my kids needed some green.

Effy1034 months ago

I ruined the soup because I used pre-cubed pancetta instead of the prosciutto. The pancetta tasted terrible and raw though I let it render for 6 minutes. Do you think the pancetta was bad or is there a reason this didn’t work?

Effy1034 months ago

@Effy103 So I remade the soup. I stood in line at the grocery deli counter and had them slice me two thick slices of prosciutto. Only other change was that I used 1 large potato instead of two medium. Soup is outstanding. Lesson learned: Don’t sub pancetta for the prosciutto!

jgivenshtx5 months ago

Our family loved this recipe. I cooked a mix of Italian beans because I felt like I just needed to use what was in my pantry. Added the home cooked beans to the soup, rather than canned beans. I also doubled the carrots and celery because who wants just a few flcsrrotnOther than that, I stuck with the recipe.

Leah6 months ago

Made this tonight for the first time. I didn’t have pancetta or bacon so I used checked sausage. But I found the broth lacked a little depth, so I added a glob of white miso and a glug of white wine vinegar and it was delicious!

Private comments are only visible to you.