Soup's On- Pasta e Fagioli

Once the weather starts to turn cold, I love me some good ole pasta e fagioli (pronounced by my family's italian slang as "fah-jul" ).  Most Italians were raised on some form of this stuff.  Like many other italian favorites such as pizza and polenta, pasta e fagioli is considered a traditional peasant dish, being made of inexpensive ingredients.  Recipes online vary anywhere from a chop suey- type dish to a thick meaty stew. My family's version is a meatless tomato broth soup with potatoes to make it more hearty.  This is quick, cheap and easy to make and is a great way to use up left over pasta and gravy! I personally think it tastes even better one or two days after it's made, making it a great do-ahead meal, perfect for a busy week night dinner.

It's definitely a childhood winter favorite of mine and soon to be yours too!

What do I need???

- 32 oz chicken or beef broth

- 1 can cannelleni beans

- 1 can dark red kidney beans

- 2-3 potatoes, peeled and cubed, (I prefer yukon gold)

- 1 cup small pasta shape (ditalini is my usual go-to)

- 1 cup tomato sauce
- parmasean cheese

Total Prep and Cook Time- 35 min, Serves 4-6

First get your potatoes peeled and chopped.  Don't worry about making them too small, you will mash them up later.  No potatoes on hand?- you can use instant potatoes later on in the recipe instead.  

Next fill a tall pot with the box of broth and another 4 cups of water.  You can use any broth you like and can use all broth instead of water as well.  Also can use all water with a few bullion cubes.Toss the potatoes on in and bring to a boil.

Simmer on medium heat for 15-20 minutes until potatoes are soft.   Once potatoes are soft, smash them up right in the pan with a potato masher. 

Cook small pasta in separate pan according to directions. I usually use the ditalini shape but today had acini di pepe so used those instead.  You really can use any shape you want but if they are too big it will soak up all the broth and you want them to easily fit on the spoon with the beans. 

Open cans of beans and rinse under cold water. I like to use two kinds and so I put in 1/2 can of each but you can do what you like. 

Toss everything on into the pot... If you wanted to use the mashed potato flakes now would be the time to stir some in! (to make it as thick as you want)

Last step is to add the sauce (gravy!).  I prefer to strain out any chunks for this soup so i put it through a little sieve and stir it in.  If you don't have left over sauce you can buy a small can of tomato sauce (Hunts etc).  You don't need any fancy jar stuff.  Add as much as you like to make the soup as thick as you like....

Grate a whole pile of Parmesan or Romano cheese over the top and you are good to go! 

Wanna switch it up?!  Add cooked ground beef, shredded chicken or bulk sausage to the soup to boost the protein.  Wilt in baby spinach or escarole for some greens.  Sometimes I use my immersion blender to really mash up the potatoes to make it more of a creamy tomato bisque consistency rather than the thin soup.