Cannellini Bean and Pasta Soup

Did you ever make a new recipe and then wish before it was too late that you could remove some of the ingredients?  Well I had that almost disastrous experience today making the Pasta Fagioli recipe shared by Anne Burrell in her Cook Like a Rock Star cookbook. What is Pasta Fagioli?  It is a delicious tomato based soup made with pancetta, pureed tomatoes, onion, garlic, cannelloni beans, chick peas and the tiny ditalini pasta. It is what I would characterize as a rather filling soup, yet it is neither a rich nor heavy one. I might even go so far as to say it's a kind of healthy soup, although I am reluctant to tell you this as some of you might equate healthy with a 'not good to just okay' eating experience. This soup breaks that myth and will even make cannellini bean lovers out of everyone who eats it.

Okay back to the 'too much' of some ingredients dilemma.  I have wanted to make this soup for awhile now.  With the nights still being cold around here, soup for dinner was just the kind of comfort food I needed to home to after a long day at work. Having had great success with Anne Burrell's recipes in the past I thought it was her Pasta Fagioli recipe I would make.  The recipe was coming together perfectly, but as soon as I added the quantity of cannelloni beans and chick peas the recipe called for to the simmering tomato base I had a sinking feeling there were going to be too many beans and not enough of the tomato liquid base.  And I hadn't even added the pasta yet. But I didn't act on this feeling quick enough. Not sure why I didn't listen to myself.

I actually made the decision to remove the 'too many' cannellini beans and chick peas too late. Which translates into I couldn't go back and remove them. But I decided I would finish the recipe anyway and see how it tasted. Well here's the good news. It was so incredibly flavorful. The pinch of red pepper adds just the right amount of heat to compliment the tomatoes and onions, that I just wanted more of the liquid. 

When served in a bowl, you top it with a finish of olive oil and chopped chives.  These two ingredients take this Cannellini Bean and Pasta Soup to elevated taste heights.  In spite of there not being as much liquid as I think it should have had, I have decided I would definitely make this soup again, and again, and again. But next time I definitely only would use one can each of the cannellini beans and chick peas so that the tomato base liquid is not completed absorbed. Then I think the proportions would be perfect.  Why all of these musings about this recipe? Why even share this recipe if it didn't turn out perfect the first time? Well I suppose I want you to seriously think about making this soup.

With the possible exception of finding pancetta, all of the ingredients are readily available in the grocery store.  Sometimes you find the pancetta in the deli section of the store and sometimes in the section where the packaged bacons are.  My favorite grocery store had the packaged pancetta, so I went with it.

After coating the bottom of a large pan with olive oil, be generous here, you add the pancetta and cook until it is crisp.  This takes anywhere from 4 to 6 minutes depending on how hot your olive oil was.

After the pancetta is cooked you add the chopped Spanish onion and cook until the onion is tender and almost translucent. You add some salt and a pinch of the red pepper during this phase of the cooking process. This takes about 6 to 8 minutes.  

After the onion is cooked, you add the chopped, minced garlic.  The moment the garlic hits the pan, the most incredible aroma fills your kitchen.  They sell minced garlic in jars these days.  As much as I love convenience, the jarred garlic is not the same as minced fresh garlic.  When given the choice, go for fresh.

The tomatoes are pureed and then added to pancetta, onion, garlic mixture.  In addition to the pureed tomatoes you also add one cup of water here and a pinch more of salt. Reduce the heat to low and continue cooking for 15 minutes.

This soup has two kinds of beans, cannellini and chick peas.  The original recipe called for two 15 ounce cans of each.  Based on my experience making this soup, I would use only one 15 ounce can of each.  More can always can be added, but they can't always be removed.  This was my invaluable learning lesson of the day.

Ditalini pasta adds something to this soup, more so than any other type of pasta.  It is cooked until very al dente, drained and then added to the soup mixture.  The pasta will continue to cook in the soup.  Remember to reserve one cup of the pasta water and add to the soup mixture.  The pasta water helps to thicken the sauce ever so slightly.

Recipe
Cannellini Bean and Pasta Soup (more than a slight adaptation of Anne Burrell's Pasta Fagioli recipe)

Ingredients
1/4 pound pancetta, cut into a 1/4 inch dice
1 medium Spanish or yellow onion, cut into a 1/4 inch dice
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 28 ounce can of San Marzano diced tomatoes-pureed
1 cup water
1 15 ounce can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (I like the Goya brand)
1 15 ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (I like the Goya brand)
1 pound ditalini pasta plus 1 cup of reserved pasta water
Extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt, crushed red pepper, freshly grated parmesan cheese and chopped fresh chives

Directions
1. Coat the bottom of a large saucepan with olive oil and add pancetta.  Turn heat to medium and cook pancetta until crisp, approximately 4 to 5 minutes of cooking time.
2. Add onion, season with salt and red pepper and cook until onion is soft, approximately 8 to 10 minutes.
3. Add garlic and continue cooking for approximately 2 minutes.
4. Add the pureed tomatoes along with one cup of water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer. Continue cooking for at least 15 minutes.
5. Add the drained and rinsed cannellini beans and chickpeas.  Cook for another 20 minutes.
6. While sauce is cooking, bring a large pot of water to boil. Add pasta and cook until very al dente.
7. Reserving one cup of the pasta water, drain pasta and add to the saucepan with the sauce and beans.  Add the one cup of reserved pasta water.  Continue cooking another 5 minutes.
8. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese, chopped chives and a generous finish of olive oil.

Today was one of those oops, no excuses kind of days.  Oops I didn't listen to my instincts and oops I hit the publish button on the blog posting today before I was finished.  And thankfully both of these oops were learning experiences and not ones that were irreparable.  All things considered it was still a pretty good day.