Italian Pasta and Bean Soup—Pasta e Fagioli

85 comments

Appears in Cook's Illustrated March/April 2003, America's Test Kitchen TV

The American version of pasta e fagioli is often bland and mushy and takes hours to prepare. We wanted it all: great flavor and proper texture in less than an hour.

SERVES 8 to 10 (Makes about 4 quarts)

TIME 1 hour

has video

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

To develop a pasta and bean soup recipe with great flavor and proper texture in less than an hour, we cooked some bacon and pancetta and then cooked our vegetables in the rendered fat. We discovered other quick flavor boosters: Adding the t...

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