← Nouns Cooking · Italian

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve
• 1 Onion, finely diced
• 1 Carrot, finely diced
• 1 stick Celery, finely diced
• 2 cloves Garlic, crushed
• 1 sprig Rosemary
• 2 tbsp Tomato purée (paste)
• 2 cans tins of borlotti or cannellini beans (400 g each), drained
• 1 l vegetable stock
• 150 g ditalini or other small pasta
• 1 pinch Chilli flakes (optional)
• 30 g Parmesan, grated, to serve (optional)
• salt and black pepper

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and cook the onion, carrot and celery for 8–10 min until soft and golden at the edges.
2. Add the garlic, rosemary and chilli for 1 minute, then stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute more until it darkens.
3. Add the beans and stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 15 min. Fish out the rosemary stalk, then blend or mash about a third of the beans in the pot to make it creamy.
4. Stir in the pasta and cook in the soup for about 10 min, stirring often so it does not stick, until tender. Add a splash of water if it gets too thick; it should be a stew-like soup.
5. Season, rest off the heat for 5 min, then serve with a drizzle of olive oil and parmesan if you like.

Tips

• Parmesan is optional: leave it off to keep the dish vegan.
• The pasta keeps soaking up broth, so loosen leftovers with hot water when reheating.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

BBC Good Food Marcellina in Cucina The Happy Foodie