Pasta e Fagioli

So in my lame attempt to bring the cool weather on (it was 93 degrees today. BRRRRR) I decided to make a soup. I found my way to doing some research into Pasta e Fagioli. Took a bunch of recipes and took what I liked about each and put my own together. It turned out terrific. Very good. My husband Sasquatch loved this. I served it with garlic toast and Chianti wine. YUMMO.

Here's what I did: I make a big pot for my large family. Half it if you want for less.

4 Tbl. olive oil
1/2 pound pancetta, cubed
1 large sprig rosemary, leaves removed from stem. Leaves lightly chopped.
2 sprigs of Thyme (with lots of sprigs on it) or 4 long single stems Thyme, leaves removed and stem discarded.
4 bay leaves
2 med. onions, chopped
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks, cleaned and chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 (14oz.) cans crushed tomatoes
5 quarts chicken broth
salt and pepper
4 cans cannellini beans
1 loose pack Cup of fresh basil, chopped
3 Cups Ditalini pasta cooked separately in well salted water. To be added when soup in done cooking.
Extra olive oil for drizzling at serving
Parmesan cheese for serving (this is a must for the end flavor)


Heat oil in large 8-10 quart pot. Add pancetta and cook for 3 -4 minutes. Add the onions, carrots, celery. Stir and cook for 3 minutes or so. Add garlic and stir to cook for a couple minutes. Add herbs and stir a minute. Add tomatoes, chicken broth and stir. Bring to a strong simmer. Cook for 10 minutes (lid off.) Add drained beans. Stir and continue to simmer for another hour. You want to cook down the liquid some. The soup will cook down about an inch. Add salt and pepper, and basil. Stir and continue to simmer. Start pasta water. Cook the Ditalini for about 8 minutes and then drain and put in pot of soup. If the pasta is a little underdone it will finish cooking. Continue to simmer another 5 minutes. Check for seasoning and adjust salt and pepper. Remove bay leaves.
Serve in bowl with a drizzle of olive oil and a couple of spoons of parmesan cheese.