Soak beans overnight with 3 crushed garlic cloves and 2 sprigs of sage. The next morning, drain the beans and add to a large saucepan along with 2 new sprigs of sage and 3 fresh garlic cloves. Cover with water a few inches above the beans. Simmer, covered, until tender but firm (about 90 minutes).
Prepare a mirepoix with onion, carrot, and celery at roughly 2:1:1 ratio, respectively. Sauté pancetta, cooking for a bit to begin browning, then adding 2 springs of sage and rosemary sprigs until done, and then chili in the final minute. Once finished, remove everything in pan (stripping rosemary of woody stems) and set aside, then add a 2 tbsp of olive oil and cook mirepoix until just starting to caramelize, scraping the pancetta fond off the bottom of the pan as water is released. Mix in tomato paste. Remove from pan into bowl with pancetta, and wipe clean.
When beans are cooked, reserve 1.5 cups of whole beans and set aside to add when finishing. Drain remaining beans, reserving cooking liquid. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in the sauté pan used for mirepoix and add the remaining beans. Cook for two minutes over high heat, mixing once or twice. When done, add back into the large saucepan.
Add sautéed beans, pancetta mirepoix, a ladle of bean cooking water back into the large saucepan. Set heat to medium and purée the mixture, adding bean water if it’s too thick to effectively purée.
Add more bean water and stir to make it more soup-like, then add pasta. Cook, covered, stirring very frequently, until just before the pasta is done. Add bean water until you reach desired final consistency.
When finished, let cool to a little above serving temperature, then stir in whole beans and pecorino romano. Remove all sprigs and chunks of garlic. Serve in bowl with drizzle of olive oil, light grating of cheese, and freshly ground black pepper.
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– 450g dried borlotti beans
– 250g ditalini pasta
– 4 garlic cloves
– 2 red onions, finely diced
– 2 carrots, finely diced
– 2 celery sticks, finely diced
– 3 sprigs rosemary
– 8 sprigs sage
– 200g pancetta, diced
– 2 tbsp tomato paste
– crushed red pepper flakes
– 60g pecorino romano, grated fresh
– 3 tbsp olive oil
Soak beans overnight with 3 crushed garlic cloves and 2 sprigs of sage. The next morning, drain the beans and add to a large saucepan along with 2 new sprigs of sage and 3 fresh garlic cloves. Cover with water a few inches above the beans. Simmer, covered, until tender but firm (about 90 minutes).
Prepare a mirepoix with onion, carrot, and celery at roughly 2:1:1 ratio, respectively. Sauté pancetta, cooking for a bit to begin browning, then adding 2 springs of sage and rosemary sprigs until done, and then chili in the final minute. Once finished, remove everything in pan (stripping rosemary of woody stems) and set aside, then add a 2 tbsp of olive oil and cook mirepoix until just starting to caramelize, scraping the pancetta fond off the bottom of the pan as water is released. Mix in tomato paste. Remove from pan into bowl with pancetta, and wipe clean.
When beans are cooked, reserve 1.5 cups of whole beans and set aside to add when finishing. Drain remaining beans, reserving cooking liquid. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in the sauté pan used for mirepoix and add the remaining beans. Cook for two minutes over high heat, mixing once or twice. When done, add back into the large saucepan.
Add sautéed beans, pancetta mirepoix, a ladle of bean cooking water back into the large saucepan. Set heat to medium and purée the mixture, adding bean water if it’s too thick to effectively purée.
Add more bean water and stir to make it more soup-like, then add pasta. Cook, covered, stirring very frequently, until just before the pasta is done. Add bean water until you reach desired final consistency.
When finished, let cool to a little above serving temperature, then stir in whole beans and pecorino romano. Remove all sprigs and chunks of garlic. Serve in bowl with drizzle of olive oil, light grating of cheese, and freshly ground black pepper.