Photo: Cranberry Bean Pasta Fagioli Recipe
Ingredients
- 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 5 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 small onion, roughly chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more to taste
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 2-ounce piece pancetta (optional)
- 5 canned whole San Marzano tomatoes, crushed by hand
- Kosher salt
- 3 pounds fresh cranberry beans in pods, shelled (or 1 cup dried cranberry beans, soaked overnight)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 piece parmesan cheese rind, plus 1/2 cup grated parmesan, and more for topping
- 2 cups small pasta, such as shells or ditalini
- 1 bunch kale, stems and ribs discarded, leaves chopped
- 1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh parsley
- Freshly ground pepper
Directions
Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the garlic, onion, red pepper flakes, rosemary and pancetta, if using, and cook 2 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and cook 2 more minutes; season with salt. Add the beans, 3 quarts water, the bay leaves and parmesan rind. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer until the beans are tender, 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours.
Uncover the pot and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes. Add the kale and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 5 to 6 more minutes. (The soup should be thick and creamy; thin with water, if necessary.)
Remove the bay leaves, parmesan rind and pancetta, if used. Add the grated parmesan, parsley, the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Top with more olive oil and parmesan.
Photograph by Tina Rupp
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By DeeLawson
Shelton, CT
on March 28, 2013
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This soup was incredible! Cranberry beans are also known as Roman Beans, shell beans or borlotti beans. I used all the tomatoes in the can of San Marzano tomatoes and I add cubed pepperoni. As the beans broke down the soup became thick. I cooked my pasta separate so I wouldn't have mushy shells in the leftover soup I plan to take for several lunches in the very near future! Yum!!
By debreese1
on October 20, 2012
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This recipe is totally lacking in flavor- I think there is a misprint on the volume of water. ( I make scratch soups all the time - 3 quarts of water does not make 4-6 servings- I should have known better. I used top quality dried cranberry beans, pancetta and fresh herbs. Note that the "rave" reviews all significantly altered the recipe ( substituted broth, etc. Could be a good starting point but do not expect this recipe to work as written. I'm adding significantly more herbs, garlic, etc now trying to rescue this.
By lucillevagabond
Jersey City, NJ
on October 19, 2012
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The key here are both the Bortotti Beans (Cranberry Beans and the San Marzanno Tomatoes! if you don't like Rosemary use fresh Chopped or torn Basil (tear it over the pot to be sure to capture each drop. The Kale is a wonderful addition. I know I will be making this and "recreating" this forever! I omitted the pancetta since I wanted an "all veggie" version this time. I also used Locatelli Romano Cheese instead of Parmesiano since it has a sharper taste (versus sweet with Parmesiano and stands up to the wonderful bitterness of the kale. Enjoy!
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