I'm Italian and let me tell you this is a fabulous Pasta Fagioli recipe. It is so easy and very tasty. I made the following modifications as per some of the other ratings and it came out perfect. Garlic increased from 3 to 4 cloves, used only 1 can of tomatoes (use crushed instead of stewed), increased broth to 4 cups, used 1/8 cup fresh chopped basil instead of dried, incrased pasta to 7 oz, added red pepper flakes for a little spice and topped it off with fresh grated parmesan cheese. AWESOME.
This was actually really delicious. It's ridiculously easy, which I thought was kind of funny - I was a little embarrassed how much work I didn't do and how well it turned out! :o) Only thing I did differently was use dried parsley and great northern beans rather than cannelini. Also added another shake of dried basil and a little salt at the end. Perfect!
*Update 2/15/08: I have made this countless times now and we love it. I always use dried parsley rather than fresh now because it actually tastes better that way to us. One of the best & probably under-rated recipes on this site!
I was looking for a simple pasta e fagioli recipe like my Italian boss makes and I've found it! I doubled the recipe, except for the tomatoes, and used 2 cans of Italian diced tomatoes instead of stewed, like others suggested. I drained and rinced my cannellini beans (I can't stand that "grit"). Also, I cooked dilatini pasta separately (in chicken stock) and added to each bowl, like my boss does, so it wouldn't get mushy...very yummy!!
This soup is delicious. I usually add some celery and carrot in with the garlic and onion if I have it. Also I like to double this recipe and freeze half in which case I'll take out the half I'm going to freeze before adding the pasta. Otherwise the pasta gets too mushy. Then just add the pasta in when you thaw and reheat it.
I made this last week for a quick late night dinner. My dad always made Pasta e Fagioli when I was a kid but he makes his with ground beef and I never really cared much for ground beef (sorry dad)! This recipe was easy and tasted delicious! I used ditalini and boiled it seperately from the rest of the soup and added it when it was still al dente. I used a can of crushed tomatoes instead of the stewed tomatoes. This soup is really perfect to use up some of your leftover tomato sauce.. just add the chicken stock and the pasta and beans and you're good to go! This is truly comfort food for me and I recommend trying this! I will definitely be making this again!
Easy to make soup with great flavor. I used Italian style diced tomatoes instead of the Stewed because the smaller pieces are easier to eat than the larger chunks that you get with the stewed tomatoes.
Instead of 1 cup of onion I used 1 medium onion. Also added 2 carrots & 1 celery stalk chopped. Substituted stew tomatoes with canned diced tomatoes and precooked the pasta. Put in some diced ham too. Great taste.
I have made this soup before, but I didnt find the recipe here, however it is almost exactly the same. To make this a one dish meal, cook 1 lb of lean ground turkey in with the onion and garlic. I also use 2 cans of cannellini beans. To the herbs and spices, I add 1 tsp. of chopped fennel seeds. It is a perfect dinner on a cold night. I probably make this once every 2 weeks during the winter.
Excellent dish! I'm devouring a bowl as I write this. I'm sure it will taste even better tomorrow. Thanks to many helpful posts here are my substitutions/changes: I added 1 lb. browned/drained ground beef (85/15%); substituted diced tom. and 2 tbsp. dried parsley; added a few shakes of salt; chopped 4-5 cloves of garlic (I just learned that chopping garlic helps it not to burn when cooked with onions); and used ditalini pasta because that's what my grandmother always uses in her soups. I love this dish and will be enjoying it for a few days! Also I completely agree with many posts...don't add the pasta until you plate the meal.
This was too tomato-y for what I would expect from pasta fagioli - it was more like a minestrone. Next time I'll omit a can of tomatoes and add another can of beans. Maybe add some sausage too.
