Pasta & Bean Soup

This pasta and bean soup combines chickpeas and red kidney beans with elbow macaroni in a tomato-rich vegetable broth seasoned with thyme, savory, and a kick of cayenne. It comes together in about 30 minutes and doubles as either a hearty soup or a thicker skillet main course.

Cooking the pasta separately before stirring it in is a detail worth following. Pasta cooked directly in the broth absorbs too much liquid and releases starch that turns the soup gluey. Boiling it to al dente in its own water keeps the noodles firm and the broth clean.

The tomato paste gives the broth a concentrated, almost roasted tomato depth that canned diced tomatoes can’t match. Six ounces is generous, so the soup has a rich, ruddy color and a thick body even before the beans go in.

Kitchen Tips

• Drain and rinse the canned beans to reduce sodium and wash away the starchy packing liquid that can cloud the soup.
• Sauté the onion and garlic until fully tender before adding liquid. Raw aromatics in a quick-cooking soup like this never catch up.
• For a thicker, stew-like version, reduce the stock to 1 cup and increase the pasta, as the recipe notes. It transforms from soup to a one-pan skillet meal.
• Grate Parmesan fresh at the table. Pre-grated parmesan from a can doesn’t melt the same way and lacks the sharp, salty punch.

Variations

• Italian sausage: Brown crumbled Italian sausage with the aromatics for a non-vegetarian version with smoky, fennel-scented depth.
• Greens addition: Stir in a handful of chopped kale or spinach during the last 3 minutes of cooking for color and extra nutrition.