What is pasta e fagioli, and how do you get it creamy?

Few dishes say "Italian home kitchen" as clearly as a bowl of pasta e fagioli. It is cheap, comforting and endlessly variable, and every region, town and grandmother has a version. Somewhere between a soup and a stew, it should be thick enough to hold a spoon for a moment, with a creamy body that seems impossible from just beans, pasta and water.

What it is

Wikipedia describes pasta e fagioli as an Italian pasta soup, its name meaning roughly "pasta and beans". It notes that the dish was once eaten by the poor and is now eaten across all social classes, that it is most often made with cannellini or borlotti beans, and that it uses small pasta shapes such as ditalini or short macaroni. Preparations vary from dry to soupy depending on ingredients and method. It belongs to the frugal tradition explained in what is cucina povera.

The base

Most versions start the same way:

• A soffritto of onion, carrot and celery, softened slowly in olive oil until sweet. Garlic and a sprig of rosemary often go in too.
• A little tomato, sometimes: a spoonful of paste fried in the oil, or a few tinned tomatoes. Some versions have none and are pale and creamy; others are rosy.
• The beans, dried and cooked, or tinned. Borlotti give a deeper, earthier flavour and colour the soup; cannellini are milder and creamier.
• Liquid: the bean cooking water if you have it, which is full of flavour and body, or vegetable stock or water. A Parmigiano rind simmered in the pot adds savoury depth (more on rinds here).

The two secrets of creaminess

1. Mash some of the beans

Once the beans have simmered in the base, scoop out a ladleful or two and blend or mash them, then stir them back into the pot. Or use a stick blender for a few short pulses, leaving most of the beans whole. The broken beans thicken the liquid into something velvety while the whole ones keep it hearty. How much to blend is personal: some like it nearly smooth, some barely touched.

2. Cook the pasta in the soup

Add the dry pasta directly to the simmering pot rather than cooking it separately. As it cooks it releases starch into the soup, which thickens it further. It also drinks up liquid, so have hot water or stock nearby and add a splash whenever it looks too thick. Stir often, scraping the bottom, as starchy bean soups like to catch.

The pasta is ready when it is just tender. Take the pot off the heat, then let it rest briefly; it will thicken more as it sits.

The finish

A good pasta e fagioli is finished at the table: a thread of peppery extra virgin olive oil, black pepper, grated Parmigiano or pecorino, and perhaps a pinch of chilli flakes. That raw oil on hot beans is a big part of the pleasure.

Regional variations

Families argue cheerfully about the details:

• The beans. Borlotti in many northern versions; cannellini in others. Wikipedia mentions a Neapolitan variant made with fresh beans that must be shelled first.
• The pasta. Ditalini, tubetti, broken spaghetti, mixed odds and ends (pasta mista), or fresh egg pasta scraps such as maltagliati.
• The texture. Some versions are almost thick enough to eat with a fork, others brothier.
• Additions. Potatoes, greens, more tomato or none at all.

Our vegetarian version leans on the soffritto, rosemary, a rind and good oil for depth. You do not miss anything.

Leftovers

Pasta e fagioli thickens a lot overnight as the pasta keeps absorbing liquid. Loosen it with hot water while reheating, and season again. Some people prefer it on the second day. If you know you will have leftovers, you can cook the pasta separately for the portion you are saving and combine when reheating.