Pasta Fagioli (Pasta and Beans) is an amazing tasting, hearty, Italian soup, perfect for the cold season and pressure pot. Pasta and beans is a typical first course of traditional Italian cuisine based on short pasta (small tube shaped) and beans. In this classic version I used ditalini pasta and borlotti beans, but the many regional versions admit variations in the choice of the type of these two main ingredients. In its more rustic version it is flavored with pancetta, as in Neapolitan pasta and beans.
INGREDIENTS (for 4 servings)
400 g can borlotti beans (or cannellini) drained and rinsed 1 cup ditalini pasta 1/2 cup tomato paste
5 cups chicken broth 1 diced carrot 1 diced onion
1 diced stalk of celery 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil salt to pepper to taste 4 tablespoons pecorino cheese or grated parmesan for garnish
PREPARATION
Heat the oil in a pressure cooker and add celery, onion and carrot; let brown for about 5 minutes and add all the other ingredients except for the pasta that you cook separately in a pot of boiling salted water.
Close the pressure cooker and cook for 15 minutes as soon as it is under pressure. Finally add the pasta to the cooked bean soup and serve sprinkled with grated cheese.
