Inspiration
Two of my family members unwittingly prompted me to explore the world of pasta e fagioli . My mom ordered this soup out a few weeks ago (I did not, as it was made with chicken broth 🤯🤯 !) and exclaimed her delight. The soup looked fabulous and I filed it in my head as a recipe for a future test. The second inspirer is my sister, Kitty. She texted me the other day, looking for ways to lower her heart rate. Beans, sistah, beans! “But I don’t like beans!texted she. Fear not, little sis, I think I can find a way to get you to dig ’em!
Healthiness
So, yes, beans support heart health! Just one cup of beans a day (like, have a bowl of this soup, kids) actually lowers heart rate. I shared this Nutritionfacts.org video with Kitty and she texted this 🤔 , so I guess I gave her food for thought. Maybe she will even try this vegan pasta e fagioli. And please click on the link above to see for yourself.
Origins
The wonderful Italian soup called pasta e fagioli is literally “pasta and bean”. But hey, doesn’t pasta e fagioli just sound much more elevated and elegant? Per A Tuscan Foodie, this is an ubiquitous dish found throughout Italy and varies in ingredients and types of beans from region to region. It is considered a peasant, or poor man’s dish, as it can be made with those ingredients usually available in the pantry (pasta and beans!) as well as whatever the home chef has on hand. And for those of you out there not sure how you feel about beans, maybe the title of this recipe will ease you into giving it a go.
The Recipe: Vegan Pasta e Fagioli
Pasta e fagioli is a classic Italian soup, basically a pasta bean soup. Many recipes abound, but here you will find a simple flavorful vegan version where kidney and cannoli beans star amid a backup cast of tomatoes, carrots, celery onions and garlic. The perfect winter soup, this dish comes together in under 45 minutes. Buon appetito!
- 1-2 tbsp olive oil can use cooking spray for low oil version
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary stripped off stems
- 1 large bay leaf
- 2 cups vegetable or no-chicken broth try Better than Bouillon
- 1 15 ounce can of kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 1 15 ounce can of cannellini beans drained and rinsed
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2-1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 2 medium carrots peeled and diced
- 1 or more tsp salt to taste
- 1 28 ounce can of whole peeled tomatoes
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1-2 tbsp fresh lemon juice (about 1/2 a lemon)
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Heat olive oil in large cast iron pot on medium heat. If choosing no oil, see Recipe Notes.
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Sauté onion until translucent, about 5-8 minutes.
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Add garlic and bayleaf and continue sautéing for another 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
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Add broth, beans, celery, carrots, onion and spices. Hold off on the salt until the end, then salt to taste.
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With gloved (or super-clean) hand, squeeze tomatoes, one at a time, into the pot. Pour in remaining tomato liquid.
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Simmer soup on medium-low heat for about 15 minutes.
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While soup simmers, prepare pasta according to package instructions. Drain, mix with a little olive oil and set aside.
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After 15 minutes, remove the bay leaf from the soup pot.
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Blend about half of the soup with an immersion blender. (Alternately, remove about half of the soup from the pot to a standing blender, purée then return to pot.
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Taste soup and add salt and pepper as you like.
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Finish the soup with a squeeze of the lemon half and toss in parsley.
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Serve over prepared pasta, about 1/2 a cup of pasta per bowl.
To make this dish virtually oil free, skip the olive oil in the recipe. Just spray the pot with cooking spray before sautéing the onions and garlic. You can add a few tablespoons and your broth to the pot as well.
