Pasta e Fagioli

By kmad

To reduce soaking time, place dried beans in a saucepan, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil. Turn the heat off, let the beans stand for one hour, and drain.

Ingredients

• 16 ounces dried great northern beans (2 1/2 cups)1 bag
• 6-8 Slices of Bacon or Pancetta (pancetta prefferd)
• 1 Stick unsalted butter
• 2 ribs celery, strings removed, cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 1 medium onion, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 2 large cloves finely chopped garlic
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped rosemary
• 4 ounces orechiette pasta
• 1 medium Yukon gold potato (about 6 ounces), peeled
• 2 whole canned tomatoes, seeded and roughly chopped
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 1/2 cups Homemade Chicken Stock, or canned low-sodium chicken broth, skimmed of fat
• 6 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation

Step 1

1.Place beans in a small stockpot, cover with cold water, and let soak overnight. Drain beans; set aside. Dry stockpot.
2.Melt butter in stockpot over medium-low heat. Add pancetta cook until brown, add celery, onion, and 1 1/4 teaspoons garlic; saute until translucent. Add beans, 1 tablespoon rosemary, stock, potato, tomatoes, pepper, and 3 1/2 cups water. Raise heat to high; bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low; simmer until beans are tender, about 1 1/4 hours. Fifteen minutes before soup is done, stir in salt.
3.Meanwhile, bring a stock pot of cold, salted water to a boil over a high heat. Add pasta and cook until slightly underdone, 5 to 6 minutes; set aside. Pass soup through a food mill, holding back one-third of whole beans. Return soup and beans to the stockpot along with the pasta. Keep warm over low heat.
4. Sprinkle each bowl with 1 tablespoon Parmesan; serve immediately.