Pasta e Fagioli

🧂 Ingredients

• 1 pound mild Italian Sausage

  casing removed
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 medium sweet onion

  diced
• 3 medium carrots

  diced
• 3 stalks celery

  diced
• 3 cloves garlic

  pressed
• ¼ cup chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 15 ounces diced plum tomatoes
• 30 ounces white kidney beans

  rinsed, soaked, precooked for 10 minutes
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon dried sweet basil
• 3 whole bay leaves

  discard before serving
• 2 tablespoon parmesan cheese

  heaping
• 1 ½ cups mini shell pasta
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 pinch pepper
• fresh Parmesan cheese

  grated over top
• fresh parsley

Instructions

• 1 In a large frying pan brown your sausage over medium-high heat. Transfer to a
  large stock pot but do not clean frying pan.
• 2 While the meat is cooking I boiled my beans for 10 minutes. Good trick for those
  with tummy woes.
• 3 In the same frying pan, add butter and let it start to melt and glisten. Then
  add your onions, carrots and celery. Cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes,
  or until tender and golden in colour.
• 4 Add garlic and cook for about 30 to 60 seconds longer.
• 5 Add the ¼ cup chicken broth and vinegar to deglaze the pan (basically boil and
  scrape the bits stuck on bottom, there's flavour in that stuff!).
• 6 Pour that liquid into your stock pot.
• 7 Add the broth, tomatoes, beans, tomato paste, basil, bay leaves, and parmesan to
  the pot. Bring it to a good boil, letting it bubble for a few minutes, then
  reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes. You can add more broth if needed.
• 8 Add the pasta and simmer for another 6 to 10 minutes, depending which pasta you
  choose. Basically al dente is the time the package calls for minus 1 minute.
• 9 Season with spice.
• 10 Serve with a big old I love soup smile!

Nutrition Info