Pasta e Fagioli/ Italian Soup with Beans and Pasta
Pasta e Fagioli With Borlotti Beans Pasta e Fagioli could very well be the national dish of Italy. It was born in the countryside and very much a true "cucina povera" dish. This flavourful soup was made out of necessity using simple, inexpensive ingredients that they harvested. There is no official recipe for pasta e fagioli, but is present in every region of Italy with slight differences in the ingredients. We grew up on my mother's version of pasta e fagioli which she learned to make as a young girl. This classic romano style uses pancetta to flavour the broth and give it a salty, earthy flavour. She would add the ends of home made prosciutto so as not to throw them out or bits of home made pancetta. Nothing went to waste in our house. If meat was not available, we would eat it without and the version here is meatless. Of course, the choice is up to you to add pancetta or not. If you are going to add pancetta simply cut it into cubes and fry before adding the soffr