Pink of Perfection

Now, I’m no Italian donna. I grew up on tomato sauce in a jar and spaghetti cut with a knife. So I’ll freely admit up front that I’m no bastion of Italian tradition. Be that as it may, I do know that a bowl of pasta e fagioli is one of the most comforting dinners on earth, even for a Scotch-Irish girl like me. Homey and rich without being heavy, this is a supper that fills the house with good scents and makes you really feel like you’re doing something for your own good. Ideally, a mother would make this and bring you a bowl on the couch, along with a cup of milky sweet tea or a glass of wine and ask if you’d like a blanket or need the pillows behind your back rearranged. But as is, just made and served by you, it is still a comforting wonder.

Let us not overlook that the comfort comes not just at the end, when you’re leaning over the bowl and lifting a spoonful of fragrant broth to your lips. It begins at the cutting board, when you are standing there chopping (hacking?) away at carrot, onion and celery. I find that’s a good a way as any to dissolve the anxieties of the day.

Pasta and Bean Soup (Pasta e Fagioli)
Serves 4-6

My mother drove out to my apartment at the end of August with a cooler filled with Ziploc bags of frozen tomatoes and and chopped vegetables from her garden to use in soup all winter long. That’s my favorite kind of care package, and why you see bits of summer squash my bowl, even though the recipe doesn’t call for it.

Full disclosure: I made this recipe on the fly by combining the How to Cook Everything version and The Art of Simple Food version. But now I can’t quite remember exactly how many cups of tomatoes I put in, or how many beans. Super helpful, right? But I think of it this way: when it comes to cooking, and especially cooking soups, you can feel your way based on your own tastes and pantry. The one rule is that you need beans and pasta–everything else is up for interpretation.

If you’re going to freeze some of this soup, keep the pasta separate. Or not, if that just seems like way to much trouble.

1/4 cup olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
pinch dried chili flakes
2 sprigs fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried
2 cups drained cooked kidney, cannellini, borlotti or other beans (or a mixture), or 1 15-ounce can
bean cooking liquid, the stock of your choice, or water (about 2 cups)
4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1-pound diced whole tomatoes or 1 15-ounce can whole tomatoes, chopped (include the juice)
1/4 pound small pasta, such as ditalini
olive oil and grated parmesan cheese, to garnish

Heat olive oil in a heavy-bottomed soup pot over moderate heat and sauté onion, carrot, celery, and chili flakes until soft, about 12 minutes. Add garlic and season with salt. Cook for a few minutes and add tomatoes and rosemary, cooking for an additional 5 minutes. Add the beans and enough bean cooking liquid, stock or water to cover. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the beans are very tender, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, cook pasta in a separate pot. Remove one-third of the beans from the soup and mash or purée. Stir the mashed beans and cooked pasta into the soup and cook for another 5 minutes, thinning the soup with additional bean cooking liquid, stock or water, as necessary. Serve garnished with olive oil and grated Parmesan.

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