I always crave this country-style Italian soup when I am feeling really hungry. It’s comforting and filling, as the garlic bread soaks in broth with white beans and escarole. Canned beans just won’t work in this recipe, as the beans need to soak overnight so they cook up plump and creamy. Toasted chunks of garlic bread give each serving a magnificently thick texture. Day-old bread works, too. I like to drizzle a bit of extra virgin olive oil on top right before serving.
I was introduced to pasta fagioli when I was in my early 20s and living on Cape Cod. I worked at a small, family-run Italian gourmet shop. It was my first insight into great Italian cooking.We made everything from scratch every day. I learned how to prepare all of these new and interesting foods that I had not grown up eating. The first time I tasted pasta fagioli—an Italian soup made with macaroni, beans, and pork—I knew that my dad would love it because it contains all of his favorite flavors. It practically defines hearty and satisfying. Customers sometimes come in and tell me that my version tastes so much like their grandmother’s that I must be Italian. I always think of that as the ultimate compliment.
Isn’t it amazing how children will eat just about anything made with pasta? My daughter, Emily, would eat a bowlful of this soup every night if I let her. I have to admit that her preference comes in handy on those days when I am so tired that just the thought of cooking and grocery shopping makes me want to cry. This soup helps turn a meal of last resort into a real dinner.
