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Pasta e Fagioli

A recipe adapted from Anne Quatrano for Secrets of the Best Chefs
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Course: Appetizer, Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1/2 sourdough boule crusts removed, cut into small cubes
  • 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped celery
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped carrot
  • 3 cloves garlic peeled and thinly sliced
  • 4 baby fennel sliced in half, or 1/4 large fennel, cored and sliced into thin strips
  • 4 baby turnips peeled, or 1 large turnip, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces
  • 1/2 cup balls of peeled Yukon Gold potato scooped with a melon baller (or just cut into cubes)
  • 4 skinny baby carrots peeled and quartered
  • 1/4 cup cooked cranberry beans I used Rancho Gordo and cooked them in a separate pot
  • 1/4 cup cooked cannellini beans you can use canned
  • 4 to 6 cups good-quality chicken stock
  • 1/2 cup chopped turnip greens optional
  • 1/2 pound elbow-shaped pasta
  • Crushed red pepper flakes
  • Freshly ground Parmesan

Method
 

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Toss the cubed sourdough on a rimmed cookie sheet with 1/4 cup of the olive oil and some salt and pepper. Bake, tossing every so often, until the croutons are golden on all sides. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
  2. For the soup, begin by heating the 3 tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat in a large pot, Dutch oven, or saucier. Add the onions, celery, and chopped carrot and cook, gently, for a minute. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds more. Nothing should brown; it should just soften.
  3. Add the fennel, turnips, potatoes, baby carrots, and beans and stir. Season lightly with salt.
  4. Add the chicken stock and bring the liquid to a boil. Add the turnip greens, if using, and the pasta; lower the heat and simmer until everything is cooked, 10 to 15 minutes. Taste for salt and pepper; for heat, add a pinch of red pepper flalkes.
  5. To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and top with the sourdough croutons and a sprinkling of Parmesan.

Notes

My Alternative Version:
Use Swiss chard instead of fennel (or in addition to fennel). Slice the stems thinly and sauté along with the onions, carrots, and celery; chop the leaves and add them with or instead of the turnip greens;
Throw a Parmesan rind into the pot along with the broth;
Use all cranberry beans (no canned cannellini), especially if you cook them yourself;
When you add the turnips and potatoes, you can also peel and cube a honeynut squash and throw it in too;
Use cavatelli instead of elbows.