Fagioli Soup with Macaroni and Kale
This Fagioli Soup combines beans, vegetables, kale, and whole wheat macaroni in a light tomato-y broth, cooked slowly to extract lots of flavor from the vegetables.
Servings: 6
Calories: 424kcal
Ingredients
- 6 slices bacon, thinly sliced
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 8 oz baby carrots, thinly sliced (half a 1 lb bag)
- 1 leek, cut in half lengthwise then sliced thinly (white and light green parts only)
- 3 stalks celery, thinly sliced
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 15oz can cannellini beans
- 1 28oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 parmesan rind (optional)
- 2 bay leaves
- 6 cups low sodium chicken stock
- salt to taste
- 1 package pre-washed baby kale, or regular kale with stems removed and chopped
- 1 lb whole wheat elbow macaroni
- crusty bread for serving
Instructions
- Bring a large Dutch oven to medium heat and add the bacon. Cook until crispy, remove, and set aside.
- Add the olive oil, wait for it to warm through, then add the carrots, leek, celery, and garlic to the pot at medium heat and stirring frequently, cook for 5 minutes. Put the top on and cook for 15 minutes, removing the lid every 5 minutes and stirring.
- Add the beans (rinsed and drained), the diced tomatoes, parmesan rind, bay leaves, chicken stock, and salt to taste. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add the bacon back into the pot (or you can always save this to add to each bowl at the end).
- Separately cook the elbow macaroni until 1-2 minutes before the box indicates for al dente. It will continue to cook in the hot soup when ladled over individual bowls.
- Remove the parmesan rind and bay leaves.
- Please a handful of kale in the bottom of each bowl along with some cooked macaroni. Pour the hot soup over the kale and elbow macaroni and serve with extra parmesan cheese and optionally a side of bread. I’ve served this with whole grain bread, sliced and brushed with olive oil, and baked in the oven on broil for 3 minutes.
Notes
Prep Ahead: Slice and mince the vegetables and garlic before starting this recipe. The first step on the stove is to make the bacon. If everything is prepped ahead, when the bacon is done, you can dump all the veggies in rather than having lag time in between (avoiding burning the bacon or leaving a hot empty pot on the stove).
Making the Sofrito: Make a note of the time. Then set a timer every 5 minutes until roughly 20 minutes have passed in order to keep track. It also does not have to be super precise, with roughly 20 minutes of cooking time, and stirring roughly every 5 minutes.
Al Dente: Not all pasta brands provide an accurate timing for cooking the pasta to al dente. So if you don't have a feel for whether the instructions are accurate, check the pasta 2 minutes before indicated on the box
Pasta Substitutes: Instead of pasta you can also use farro, pearl barley, or short grain brown rice. We often make this with farro, or pearl barley instead of pasta.
Nutrition
Calories: 424kcal | Carbohydrates: 67g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 273mg | Potassium: 596mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 5743IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 80mg | Iron: 4mg
