Harry & David's Pasta Fagioli

"Pasta e Fagioli" literally means "pasta and beans". It is a traditional Italian dish that originated as a peasant dish due to the main ingredients being cheaply available. I have read that the base of the soup is generally olive oil, but this soup from Harry and David did not call for such. It was tomato-based, but I didn't have any complaints - the soup was easy to make, hearty and delicious!

This is soup from a pack, but next time, I'll try to make it from scratch. (FYI, this soup package costs $6.95 and made 8 servings!).


What you need: 

1 package (115 oz) Harry & David Pasta Fagioli soup mix
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
12 cups water


What to do: 

Rinse and pick through the beans included in the package. Combine beans and 6 cups of water in a soup kettle. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.

Drain beans. Add remaining 6 cups of water, pasta, vegetable packet, spice packet, and tomato sauce to beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer an additional 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Ladle on bowls and serve hot.

Tips, Tricks and Tweaks: 

1. This soup is a bit tangy because of the tomato sauce. If it is too tart for you, add a bit of sugar, or lessen the tomato sauce that you will use.
2. Serve with garlic bread - yummy!
3. If you want thicker soup, use only 5 cups of water (instead of 6).