Pasta e fagioli or soup with beans

I had a kind of debate with my mum by phone about how to season soup with beans (pasta e fagioli).  I have always used sage: it gives a full taste to the soup when combined with tomato sauce.  She said she never used tomato sauce (a heresy!) with pasta e fagioli and she’d rather season it with rosemary.  Whether you are for the Sage Party or the Rosemary Party, here is a good-tasting recipe for cold days.

For four people you need:

250 g of soaked Borlotti beans, one litre of water, one peeled clove of garlic, three tbsp of olive oil, four tbsp of tomato passata, 200 g of macaroni, salt, pepper and sage or rosemary.

Boil the beans gently in one litre of water and salt.  When they are ready, pour the olive oil into another saucepan and gently cook the garlic.  When it is pale brown, remove it and pour in the beans and water.  Add the tomato passata, salt (if necessary), pepper and sage (or rosemary).  Let it boil for 5-10 minutes.  Finally add the macaroni and stir.  When everything is cooked, serve hot.

A variation of this recipe is blending half of the beans and mixing it with the rest.  The result is a creamier-textured soup.

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