Pasta e fagioli

Pasta e fagioli is a thick soup of cooked beans and small pasta, usually flavoured with tomato, garlic, rosemary and olive oil. It is a traditional peasant dish of central and southern Italy, and it is cooked in many local variants.

What it really is

Classic pasta e fagioli starts with a soffritto of onion, carrot and celery cooked in olive oil, with garlic and rosemary added. Borlotti beans (cranberry beans) are the usual choice, cooked either from dried or from the jar, and part of them is mashed or blended so the soup thickens. Tomato, sometimes passata or chopped tomatoes, goes in next, followed by water or a light broth. Short pasta such as ditalini or small tubular shapes is added near the end and cooked in the soup until just tender, so the soup is thick enough to be eaten with a spoon.

It is not the same as pasta fagioli in the sense of a bean stew served with a separate pasta course, nor as the many bean and grain soups that have no pasta at all. The defining feature is that the pasta is cooked in the soup and the finished dish is thick and spoonable. Regional versions vary in the beans used, the amount of tomato and whether pork rind or pancetta is included.

How it's served

• Served hot in shallow bowls as a first course or as a main dish in cooler months.
• Finished with a spoon of extra virgin olive oil, black pepper and grated Parmigiano Reggiano at the table.
• Eaten with crusty bread, often toasted and rubbed with garlic.
• Left to rest a few minutes before serving, as the pasta keeps absorbing liquid and the soup thickens.

How to write it on the menu

• Write it as pasta e fagioli and list borlotti beans, tomato, pasta, olive oil and rosemary.
• Flag WHEAT for the pasta and, if Parmigiano is used as a garnish, MILK.
• State whether the pasta is made with egg or dried durum wheat, and whether pancetta or pork rind is included.
• Vegetarian only if it is made without pancetta or meat stock; say so explicitly on the menu.