And Then Again, There’s Pasta Soup

If you serve your pasta like most Americans, you generally dress it with a sauce. Italians, however, are just as likely to eat it in soup.

Pasta e fagioli, pasta with beans, redolent of garlic and herbs, is kind of a hybrid: It’s served in a bowl, and its consistency can range from thick soup to soupy pasta. A great advantage of this hearty dish is that it enables us to enjoy pasta with little or no fat.

The proportions of the two main ingredients in pasta e fagioli are up to you. You can make it by tossing pasta with beans and a thin tomato sauce, but the most common technique is to cook pasta in a bean soup. Although it bears a certain similarity to minestrone, pasta e fagioli tends to be thicker and has fewer ingredients.

During the cold months, pasta with beans is a staple in our household, so I keep a few key ingredients in my pantry: cans of vegetable or chicken broth on hand, as well as canned or frozen homemade tomato sauce. To get this dish ready, all I need to do is cook pasta in the broth, then add beans, fresh garlic and a little tomato sauce.

I like to cook extra portions when I’m cooking dried beans and keep some in the freezer so I can quickly thaw them in the microwave and use them in this soup.

If I don’t have cooked beans, I use frozen or canned black-eyed peas or frozen lima beans. When time is of the essence, I make an even quicker version from canned pinto or white beans. Occasionally, I use garbanzo beans to prepare a variation known in Italy as pasta e ceci.

QUICK PASTA E FAGIOLI

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, diced

2 celery stalks, diced, optional

1 carrot, cut into 1/2-inch dice

1 (14 1/2-ounce) can vegetable or chicken broth

2 1/4 cups water

2 large cloves garlic, minced

1 cup small pasta shells

1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce

1 (15- or 16-ounce) can white beans or pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage or basil or 1 teaspoon dried

For more color, flavor and nutrients, add any of these vegetables with the broth: 1 or 2 diced zucchini, 1/2 cup spinach leaves, 2 or 3 Swiss chard leaves, cut into strips, or 1/2 cup frozen corn or green beans.

Heat oil in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, celery and carrot and saute, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes. Add broth and water. Cover and bring to boil. Cook over medium heat 5 minutes.

Add garlic and pasta and cook, uncovered, over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until pasta is tender but firm to the bite, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in tomato sauce, beans and sage and heat through. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve hot.

Makes 4 servings.

Each serving contains about:

311 calories; 839 mg sodium; 1 mg cholesterol; 5 grams fat; 54 grams carbohydrates; 13 grams protein; 1.74 grams fiber.