Florentine White Bean Soup With Pasta Recipes

Steps:

• Place beans in large pot.
• Add enough cold water to cover beans by 3 inches.
• Let stand overnight.
• Drain beans well.
• Return to pot.
• Add 16 cups water, 5 unpeeled garlic cloves, and celery stalk.
• Bring mixture to boil; reduce heat to low and simmer 1 hour 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat.
• Add onions and 3 chopped garlic cloves and sauté until golden brown, about 10 minutes.
• Add tomatoes with juices, rosemary, sage, and celery salt to mixture, stirring to combine.
• Add vegetable mixture to bean mixture in pot.
• Simmer soup until beans are tender, about 45 minutes.
• Cook pasta in another large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally.
• Drain well.
• Add cooked pasta and remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil to soup, stirring to combine.
• Thin soup with more water, if desired.
• Season soup to taste with salt and pepper and serve.
• Makes 12 first-course or 6 main-course servings.

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season well with salt. Add the pasta and cook for 3 minutes less than indicated in the package directions, about 7 minutes. Drain well reserving 1/2 cup pasta water.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add the oil, carrot and onion to the skillet. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring often, until fragrant and beginning to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the pepper flakes and thyme and cook another minute. Stir in the drained beans and chicken broth. Reduce the heat to medium to maintain a simmer and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Use the back of a spoon to gently mash some of the beans. Set aside.
• Add the cooked pasta to the sauce. Sprinkle the grated cheese over the pasta and toss to coat well. Stir in the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and add the 1/2 cup pasta water as needed to maintain a creamy, broth-like sauce. Sprinkle in the spinach and cook until wilted.

Steps:

• Grate the zest from the lemon into a small bowl. Halve the lemon and squeeze the juice from half of it on top of the zest. Add the white beans, shallot or onion, grated garlic, red-pepper flakes and a large pinch of salt and toss well. Drizzle in 1 tablespoon olive oil and set aside.
• Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until just shy of al dente, usually 2 minutes less than the package directs.
• Meanwhile, heat a 12-inch sauté pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add the remaining 3 tablespoons oil, then add the asparagus. Sauté until the asparagus is tender and starting to brown at the edges, 7 to 10 minutes. Add a big pinch of salt and the sliced garlic and sauté until the garlic is lightly golden, 1 to 2 minutes longer.
• Dip a coffee mug or glass measuring cup into the pasta water and scoop out about 1/2 cup of it to use for the sauce. Drain pasta, shaking it well. Add pasta, bean mixture, parsley and Parmesan to sauté pan and cook until the beans are hot and the pasta is al dente. If the mixture looks dry, splash in some (or all) of the reserved pasta water. Squeeze remaining lemon half over pasta, toss and taste. Season with pepper; add more salt, red-pepper flakes and lemon juice, if desired.

Steps:

• Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick saucepan, saute the celery, carrots and onion in oil for 5 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in the water, tomatoes, broth, basil, rosemary, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until carrots are tender. , Drain pasta; stir into vegetable mixture. Add the beans; heat through. Stir in spinach; cook until spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese if desired.

Steps:

• Sort beans and rinse with cold water. Place beans in a Dutch oven or soup kettle; add water to cover by 2 in. Bring to a boil; boil for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat; cover and let stand for 1 hour. Drain and rinse beans, discarding liquid., In the same pan, cook the sausage, onion, carrot and garlic over medium heat until the meat is no longer pink; drain. Add the broth, water, currants, basil and reserved beans. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until the beans are tender, stirring occasionally., Add tomatoes and pasta; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until pasta is tender. Serve with cheese.