White Bean Soup (with Ham and Pasta)
Ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 28-ounce can whole tomatoes, preferably plum tomatoes
- 2 - 19-ounce cans cannelloni beans
- 1/2 pound baked ham, finely chopped
- 1 quart chicken stock
- 2 quarts water
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 cup tiny pasta shells
- salt and pepper, to taste
Preparation:
- Heat the oil in a heavy Dutch oven.
- Add the onions and sauté over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until they are soft but not brown.
- Add the garlic, plum tomatoes (which have been crushed or mashed with a potato masher), cannelloni beans, ham, chicken stock, water and crushed red pepper.
- Bring the soup to a boil, stirring often.
- Lower the heat, cover the pan, and cook for 30 minutes.
- Add the pasta shells.
- Return soup to a boil.
- Lower the heat, cover the pan.
- Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes more.
- Taste for seasoning, and add salt and pepper, if desired.
- Serve at once.
Note: Don't sauté the garlic with the onion. Your final result will taste better because the garlic will cook more quickly than the onions, and over-browned garlic is bitter.
Total time: 1 Hrs 25 Min