Hearty
Hearty Bean & Pasta Soup
Pantry-driven, vegetable-loaded, soul-warming — a thick bean and pasta soup using Cibo di Italia Whole Wheat Macaroni. Land it on the iftar table or pack it for a working-from-home lunch. Tastes even better on day two.
Ingredients
- 200gCibo di Italia Whole Wheat Macaroni
- 400gcannellini or white beans — one tin, drained
- 400gred kidney beans — one tin, drained
- 400gchopped tomatoes — one tin
- 3tbspolive oil
- 1piecemedium onion — finely chopped
- 2piecesmedium carrots — diced
- 2piecescelery sticks — diced
- 4piecesgarlic cloves — finely chopped
- 1tbsptomato paste
- 1.2lhot vegetable stock
- 1tspdried oregano
- 1piecesmall handful parsley — chopped, to serve
- to tastesalt and black pepper
Method
Step 1.Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot and celery with a generous pinch of salt; cook 8 minutes until softened.
8 min
Step 2.Stir in the garlic, oregano and tomato paste. Cook for 90 seconds until the paste darkens.
2 min
Step 3.Add the chopped tomatoes and half-fill the tin with water; pour that in too. Simmer 5 minutes.
5 min
Step 4.Tip in both tins of drained beans and the hot stock. Bring to a gentle boil and season well.
3 min
Step 5.Scoop out a ladle of soup and crush it with a fork — beans and all — and stir back in. This is what makes the broth thick and creamy.
1 min
Step 6.Drop in the whole wheat macaroni and stir well. Simmer 10 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes, until al dente.
10 min
Step 7.Take off the heat and rest for 3 minutes. The pasta will continue to drink the broth — splash in more hot water if you prefer a looser soup.
3 min
Step 8.Serve in deep bowls with parsley, a final drizzle of olive oil and a grind of black pepper.
Goes well with
Iced laban with mint and cumin — earthy and cooling.
Toasted sourdough rubbed with a halved garlic clove and dressed in olive oil.
Stewed apples with cinnamon and a spoonful of yoghurt.
The pasta we used
Cibo di Italia Whole Wheat Macaroni
500g · Cooks in 9–11 minutes · Serves ~5
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