Pasta E Fagioli Soup
This is a version my daughter and I came up with to come as close as we could to a popular chain restaurant
This is a version my daughter and I came up with to come as close as we could to a popular chain restaurant
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup onion diced
- 1 cup celery chopped
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme
- 1 teaspoon basil
- 1 cup carrot julienned
- 1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
- pound ground beef
- 2 14.5-oz cans tomato
- 1 15-oz cans red kidney beans
- 1 15-oz cans great northern beans
- 1 12-oz cans v8 juice
- 1 tbs white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon hot pepper flakes
- 2 dashes hot sauce
- 1/2 pound ditali pasta
- Carbohydrate 47.8004047395833 g
- Cholesterol 20.44 mg
- Fat 1.45762973958333 g
- Fiber 8.58110067281282 g
- Protein 13.32148609375 g
- Saturated Fat 0.254851135416667 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (310g)
- Sodium 114.822255208333 mg
- Sugar 39.2193040667705 g
- Trans Fat 0.402739604166666 g
- Calories 251 calories
Step-by-step
- Brown Meat. Drain
- Add onion,carrot, celery and garlic and saute for 10 min
- Add remaining ingredients, except pasta, and simmer for 1 hour
- About 50 minutes into simmering cook pasta in seperate pot for 10 or al dente. Drain
- Add pasta to the large pot of soup. Simmer for 10 min, Serve
Assessing Texture Through Visual Cues
Evaluating soup doneness relies entirely on visual and textural indicators rather than electronic measurements. The aromatics, including diced onions and julienned carrots, require a full ten-minute sauté to break down cellular walls and release natural sugars before liquids enter the pot. Simmering the base for one hour allows starches from the kidney and great northern beans to partially dissolve, which naturally thickens the broth without requiring flour or cornstarch slurries. When testing the ditali pasta in a separate vessel, stop cooking at the ten-minute mark when the exterior yields slightly while the core maintains a distinct white resistance.
Managing Kitchen Sequence and Timing
Executing multi-component soups efficiently demands careful chronological overlap. Boiling the pasta separately during the final ten minutes of the main pot's one-hour simmer prevents the wheat starches from clouding the entire batch of broth. Combining the drained pasta into the simmering pot for the final ten minutes permits the tubular noodles to absorb flavored liquid without disintegrating. Store leftovers within two hours in shallow containers below 40 degrees Fahrenheit to maintain structural integrity across multiple days.
