Pasta e fagioli, gluten-free and dairy-free

[rosefox]

In the cold season, this is a wonderfully filling and savory soup—now made gluten-free and dairy-free! This is great with a (relatively) crusty bread like Schar's ciabatta rolls. If you're in the U.S., Stop and Shop's Nature's Promise brand does good GF elbow macaroni that work very well for this.

Ingredients

Base
1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
3 oz pancetta or bacon, chopped fine
1 medium onion or 1/2 large onion, chopped fine (about 1 cup)
1 medium rib celery, chopped fine (about 2/3 cup)
4 medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 heaping Tbsp)
1 tsp dried oregano
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
3 anchovy fillets, minced to paste (about 1 tsp)
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes with liquid, or crushed tomatoes
1 Tbsp white miso paste
2 cans (15 ounces each) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

To serve
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 cups water
8 ounces small pasta (up to the size of elbow macaroni)
a double handful of fresh spinach, left whole if leaves are small or torn/chopped if not (optional)
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley leaves

Note: If using turkey bacon, add 1 Tbsp olive oil to make up for the lack of fat.

Note: The miso paste adds a LOT of salt. If possible, use broth, beans, and tomatoes that have no salt added.

Note: The recipe as written makes about seven servings. (They will be small. That's good. One small bowl of this will fill you up.) If you don't need to make that much right away, prepare the entire base, but only prepare as much of the "To serve" ingredients as you need to serve right away, and store the rest of the base with a note on it for how many "To serve" ingredients it needs to be finished. The finished soup does not store well, as the pasta soaks up too much liquid. The base keeps well in the fridge for 3 days and would probably freeze fairly well too.

Instructions

0) Mise en place. Gather your ingredients and tools. Chop the bacon (bowl #1). Dice the onion and celery (bowl #2). Press the garlic, mince the anchovy, and mix them with the oregano and pepper flakes (bowl #3). Measure out the miso paste. Drain and rinse the beans.

1) Make the base. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or nonstick pan (at least 3-quart capacity) over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking, about 2 minutes. Add bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Add onion and celery; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes, and anchovies; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes with their juice, scraping up any browned bits from bottom of pan. Add miso and beans; bring to boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer to blend flavors, 10 minutes.

At this point, set aside any portion of the base that you're not planning to use yet. Make sure you reduce the quantity of the "To serve" ingredients to match the quantity of base you're using now.

2) Make the soup. Add broth and water; increase heat to high and bring to boil. Add pasta and spinach. Cook until pasta is tender. Ladle soup into individual bowls; drizzle each serving with olive oil and sprinkle with parsley. Serve immediately.

Source: https://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipes/52-italian-pasta-and-bean-soup-pasta-e-fagioli

Comments

[jesse_the_k]

That sounds like the perfect thing for our house tonight, where it will be 8°F.

We've just found the miracle that is Barilla-brand Red Lentil Pasta. It's made from red lentil flour -- that's all! No gums, no starches, no salt, nothing but lentils. The best part is it stays toothy.

[rosefox]

Lentil pasta tends to sit in my belly like a rock! I'm usually very protein-driven but it seems to be a bridge too far for me. Ah well.

I hope this keeps you toasty warm!