Pasta and Bean Soup (Pasta e Fagioli)

This is a great soup. And very easy to prepare. I based mine of recipes from Patricia Wells’ TRATTORIA and Arthur Schwartz’s NAPLES AT TABLE.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
4 large garlic cloves, minced
3 slices bacon (I used Applewood-Smoked from D’ARTAGNON), chopped
1 length Andouille Cajun Sausage from D’ARTAGNON, chopped
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium carrot, diced
1 large rib celery, diced
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 14.5 ounce can Cannellini Beans (I did not rinse nor drain!)
1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
salt and pepper
6-8 cups homemade stock
1 cup ditalini

Directions

1. In a heavy-bottomed stockpot, cook bacon in oil. Remove, drain, and chop.
2. In same pot cook garlic till it sizzles. As soon as the garlic begins to color, add tomatoes to pot and crush with spoon. Add beans.
3. In another pot cook onion, carrot, and celery in olive oil until fragrant and soft, about 5 minutes. Add to tomatoes and beans.
4. Add stock, bacon and sausage to tomatoes and beans.
5. In pot in which you cooked vegetable cook pasta in boiling salted water. Drain and add to tomatoes and beans. Add hot red pepper flakes.