Categories: Tried during Ramadan. Bland unless you spice it up.

Ingredients

• 1 cup dried tubettini pasta (can substitute ditalini, conchigliette, or small maccheroni)
• 2 cups cooked small white beans such as cannellini (see Basic Cooked Beans)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Leaves from 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, finely chopped
• 10 small fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 4 cups reserved bean-cooking liquid
• 2 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated

Directions

1. Fill a medium saucepan with water. Salt it well and bring to a boil over high heat. Add pasta and cook for 5 minutes. (Pasta will not be fully cooked.) Drain and set aside. Blend 1/2 cup of the beans with a little water in a blender or food processor and set aside.

2. In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat until hot. Add the onions and sweat them by cooking until soft and translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the garlic, rosemary, and sage, and let the mixture cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

3. Stir in the tomato paste and cook until it caramelizes and melts in with the other flavors in the pot, about 2 minutes.

4. Thin the tomato-paste mixture with the bean-cooking liquid, add the remaining 1 1/2 cups of the beans, and let simmer for 10 minutes. Add the pasta and the bean purée to the soup, and simmer another 5 minutes or until the pasta is tender. Sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano and serve.

5. Note: Traditionally, pancetta is included in Pasta e Fagioli to provide more-intense flavor. If you want to include it, add 3 ounces of diced pancetta with the garlic. If you prefer some heat, add a few dried red peppers when you put in the herbs.

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