by The Culinistas
Winter is the peak season for citrus, and this zuppa brings the lemon zing. Pasta e fagioli, meaning “pasta and beans”,’ is a traditional Italian pasta dish. But since we like to put The Culinistas spin on everything, we’ve made ours bright & green.
Prepped and ready in under an hour, this vegan citrus soup will certainly shake off the winter shivers while promoting immune health.
Lemony Pasta Fagioli
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Serves 4 to 6
CHEF TIPS
Shopping:
– A 19 oz can of cannellini beans is 2 ½ cups.
– One large bunch of escarole is about 4 cups, chopped.
Technique:
– Soak escarole briefly in cold water, before & after chopping, rustling gently to remove grit.
– If you are not serving the soup immediately after cooking, pack pasta & soup separately; add pasta as needed when heating up.
Extra Ingredient:
– Combine zest from lemon with 1 cup olive oil for lemon-infused oil to use on salads or to drizzle on finished dishes.
2 TB olive oil
1 large leek, sliced into rings
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 tsp onion powder
¼ tsp cayenne
2½ cups cannellini beans
½ lb ditalini pasta
4 cups escarole, chopped
⅓ cup lemon juice
Salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste
Sumac, for garnish
1. In a dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium low heat. Add leek, garlic, onion powder, cayenne, salt & pepper; sweat until fragrant, 3-5 mins.
2. Add cannellini beans & their liquid. Add 3 cups of water & simmer; 15 mins. Add escarole, cover & simmer; 20 mins.
3. While soup is simmering, cook pasta: In a pot of boiling, salted water, cook pasta until al dente, 8-10 mins. Reserve.
4. Add 1 cup of soup to a high speed blender & blend until smooth; return to dutch oven. Remove from heat, stir in lemon juice & pasta. Season with salt & pepper.
5. Ladle soup into bowls & garnish with sumac.
Onion Powder, Cayenne, and Sumac are a chef’s secret weapons. Check out our eComm shop to purchase our favorite brand.