This has always been one of my favorite soups; when I see it on menus I always order it. I do this because it tastes fantastic but ALSO because it’s good to start heavy Italian meals with a salad or a broth-based soup. This soup is crazy good for you with all the beans and veggies. If you start a meal with something “voluminous” you have less room in your belly for pasta!

“Fazool” is how you pronounce it, in case you’ve been holding back ordering it due to possible waiter embarrassment.

The first time I made it I did so because I randomly happened to have all the ingredients. You may skim the recipe and ask, “you routinely have anchovies in your pantry?” No, it was odd. So go buy a tin of anchovies. Take out three and then put the rest in a baggie in your freezer. A hundred years from now or next month when you make something that calls for anchovies you will go, “OMG, I have some anchovies in the freezer!”.

This is why. Ever make a soup and say… hmm why is it so much better at restaurants? In this case, the anchovy could be the reason. It creates such a depth of flavor; you don’t actually taste the fish but you will notice a complex, rich flavor.

Also, cheese rind? DON’T BUY THE GREEN BOTTLE OF PRE-GRATED KRAFT PARMESAN CHEESE. Just don’t do it. Buy Belgioioso. It’s not expensive has a great flavor; you can grate it as you need it. When you get to the rind, put it in a plastic bag in your fridge. When you make soup, put it in the broth. It makes a big flavor difference.

Lastly, buy a package of bacon. Use what you need for this recipe, and then divide the remaining slices up into sections of three. Place the groupings into plastic bags and throw them into your freezer. A lot of recipes will ask you to start by sauteing bacon but rarely will you need more than three slices. Thawing and re-freezing is super annoying, which is why you will be SO glad you pre-divided the slices!

Finally, on to the recipe.

Pasta e Fagioli (“Pasta Fazool”)

Adapted from America’s Test Kitchen

8-10 servings

1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

3 slices bacon or pancetta, chopped fine

1 onion, chopped fine

1 celery stalk, chopped fine

4 medium garlic cloves, minced (or pressed through a garlic press)

1 tsp. dried oregano

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (or more to taste)

3 anchovy fillets, minced to a pasta

1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes

1 piece parmesan cheese rind

2 (15.5) oz cans cannelini or red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

4 c. chicken broth

2 c. water

Salt – to taste

8 oz. small pasta shape (orzo, shells, tubetini or ditalini)

1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley leaves

Fresh parmesan to top each bowl

1. Heat oil over medium high heat in a large pot or dutch oven for about 3 minutes.

2. Add chopped bacon/pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until it starts to brown.

3. Add onion and celery; cook, stirring occasionally until veggies are softened — about 5 minutes. While the veggies are softening, prep your next ingredients and put them all in a little bowl.

Yes, anchovies are gross. Get over it, they make this soup extra good.

This bowl is like a flavor bomb.

4. Add garlic, oregano, red pepper and anchovies. Stir constantly for about 1 minute.

5. Add tomatoes (and their liquid) and stir, scraping up the brown stuff on the bottom of the pan. Brown stuff easily seen in the above photo. This doesn’t mean something burned…it’s the FLAVOR.

6. Add cheese rind and beans. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low and simmer to blend the flavors— about 10 minutes. The original recipe called for all cannelini beans (also called Great Northern Beans); I only had one can of cannelini so I used a can of red kidney beans. Similar in size and texture, they worked just fine. Make sure you rinse them first to get off the gluey starchy liquid.

7. Add chicken broth, water, and 1 tsp. salt. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil.

8. Add pasta and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. I used orzo because I had it—from the squash, orzo and sage concoction. Packages of pasta come in 16 oz bunches, so 8 oz. will be half a box.

9. Discard cheese rind and turn off the heat. Stir in the parsley and serve, with sprinkled cheese on top.

Serve pretty close to finishing this soup. Then, you can rename the leftovers “the incredible growing soup”. Your noodles will absorb a good amount of broth, leaving you with something that no longer looks like soup. Put it in tupperware and add broth as needed for your leftovers. I served four people with it originally and have since eaten it for lunch every day, adding broth each day.

Pasta e Fagioli (“Pasta Fazool”)

Adapted from America’s Test Kitchen

8-10 servings 

1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

3 slices bacon or pancetta, chopped fine

1 onion, chopped fine

1 celery stalk, chopped fine

4 medium garlic cloves, minced (or pressed through a garlic press)

1 tsp. dried oregano

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (or more to taste)

3 anchovy fillets, minced to a pasta

1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes

1 piece parmesan cheese rind

2 (15.5) oz cans cannelini or red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

4 c. chicken broth

2 c. water

Salt – to taste

8 oz. small pasta shape (orzo, shells, tubetini or ditalini)

1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley leaves

Fresh parmesan to top each bowl

1. Heat oil over medium high heat in a large pot or dutch oven for about 3 minutes.

2. Add chopped bacon/pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until it starts to brown.

3. Add onion and celery; cook, stirring occasionally until veggies are softened — about 5 minutes.

4. Add garlic, oregano, red pepper and anchovies. Stir constantly for about 1 minute.

5. Add tomatoes (and their liquid) and stir, scraping up the brown stuff on the bottom of the pan.

6. Add cheese rind and beans. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low and simmer to blend the flavors— about 10 minutes.

7. Add chicken broth, water, and 1 tsp. salt. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil.

8. Add pasta and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.

9. Discard cheese rind and turn off the heat. Stir in the parsley and serve, with sprinkled cheese on top.