Pasta e Fagioli like Olive Gardens

This week's Soup Sunday was Pasta e Fagioli.  We are trying to make a soup on Sunday nights as the weather turns cold. This made enough for two lunches this week and a leftover night yesterday.   The soup is hearty, and delicious.  Keep some extra broth around as the Pasta will soak up the broth.  It is a copy cat recipe of Olive Gardens famous recipe from Salt & Lavender.

Ingredients

 

Servings: 12 servings

1 lb lean ground beef

1 tbsp olive oil

2 medium carrots , diced into small cubes

1 large onion, diced into small cubes

1 stalk celery, diced into small cubes

3 cloves garlic

15 oz canned diced tomatoes

15 oz tomato sauce

32 oz chicken broth

15 oz canned Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed

15 oz canned Kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup ditalini pasta

1 tbsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp salt, adjust to taste

1 tsp black pepper, adjust to taste

2 tbsp fresh basil, (optional)

In a dutch oven or soup pot, heat up a tablespoon of olive oil at medium heat and brown your beef. Drain excess fat and set aside. Add a bit more olive oil to the pot and stir in garlic, onions, celery and carrots. Cook until tender. 

Add in tomato sauce, canned tomatoes and beef. Stir to combine. Add your beans and chicken stock/broth. Let simmer for 15 minutes.

Add in pasta and Italian seasoning (dried oregano and thyme will work if you don’t have the spice blend on hand). Cook for 15 more minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepperr.  Top with Parmesan and basil.