Pasta and Bean Soup (Pasta e Fagioli)
Serves 6 Time 2–3 hours Difficulty 2/5 Ingredients 8 Steps 8
There are as many ways of preparing pasta e fagioli (or basta fazool if you come from southern Italy) as there are Italians. In 1940's Brooklyn, all the Italians would have it every Friday night because it is meatless. Usually it is a soup dominated by tomatoes. This recipe, in contrast, is the consistency of a stew, and is dominated by the umami flavor.
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried white beans
- 1 cup olive oil
- 1 whole clove of garlic, unshelled
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon or more crushed or ground hot red pepper
- Fresh parsley
- ½ pound small diameter macaroni (whole wheat is best)
- Salt to taste
Steps
- Put washed beans in salted water (3 parts water to 1 part beans).
- Soak overnight, or boil 2 minutes and stand covered 1 hour.
- Do not drain beans. Bring to boil.
- Skim foam. Add oil, garlic, and bay leaf.
- Simmer about 2 hours, until tender.
- Cook pasta 6–7 minutes, not too soft. Drain, saving some water.
- Stir pasta and red pepper into beans. Simmer until pasta is al dente, adding saved water if necessary.
- Garnish with red pepper to taste and parsley.
Notes from the original
- Use whichever sort of beans is the favorite in your neighborhood and likely to be freshest. In Southern California that would be pinto beans; in the deep South, black-eyed peas or perhaps butter beans. Garbanzos might be good. Navy beans are always safe.
- Use the best grade of olive oil you can get.
- With a salad and some red wine this is a hearty meal, and can be eaten the next day, cold or reheated.
Source. Adapted from “Cookbook:Pasta and Bean Soup (Pasta e Fagioli)” by Wikibooks contributors, revision of 2025-07-18, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Changes. Steps rewritten into short commands. Introduction shortened. Wiki formatting removed. This adapted recipe is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.