Pasta e Fagioli

If you were a devoted reader from the beginning, you may notice I've made this dish before. As much as I try to not repeat any meals, I had a few reasons for repeating this one. One is it's just so delicious, and today was so cold and rainy. It was perfect. Secondly, I have decided that I'll eventually make my blog into a cookbook, and I'd like to have more photos (hopefully better) of some dishes to use in the cookbook. I used the same recipe, one I made on my own after making this dish a few times. The green beans are non-traditional, but I like to add veggies whenever possible, and it grabs an element from the vegetarian version of this soup - Minestrone.

Pasta e Fagioli

6 oz. 96% lean ground beef

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

2 cloves garlic minced

1 small yellow onion chopped

2 carrots peeled and sliced

1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano or 1/2 tsp. dried

15 oz. can dark red kidney beans

1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

¼ pound green beans in 1 inch segments

4 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup ditalini or orrechetti pasta

Salt and pepper to taste

Shaved Parmesan

In a soup pot on medium high, brown ground beef for 6-8 minutes. Drain if necessary.

Add garlic, onion, carrots, salt and pepper. Turn heat to medium and let vegetables sweat. After 5 minutes, add kidney beans, tomatoes, green beans and chicken stock. Turn heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes to a few hours.

Add pasta, cover, and let simmer another 15 minutes.

If soup looks thick, add chicken stock until desired consistency is reached.

Top with fresh shaved parmesan.

Note - I added about a cup of stock to the pot after taking this photo, I just wanted the ingredients to be visible.