Ina Garten Is Sharing All Her Favorite Soup Recipes This Week—Starting with This Cozy Pasta e Fagioli

We’re not sure how anyone could resist a bowl of this cozy comfort food.

Reviewed by Dietitian Jessica Ball, M.S., RD

With temperatures dropping below freezing up and down the country this week, a hot bowl of soup has never sounded better. Whether you prefer to warm your hands around a bowl of simple French onion or hearty vegetarian stew.

Related: Yumna Jawad Just Made a One-Pot Tomato Soup-Grilled Cheese Combo—Here's How to Recreate It at Home

If you’ve already burned through all your favorite recipes this winter, have no fear: Ina Garten is here with plenty more recipes. The cookbook author and Food Network host took to Instagram this week to celebrate the cold weather with some of her favorite soup recipes—and she’ll be sharing more of them all week.

But first on the list is Ina’s 16-Bean Pasta e Fagioli, a truly classic soup with a truly Ina twist. “It snowed last night, so I started soaking beans for a big batch of Pasta e Fagioli that I finished this morning,” Garten wrote in her caption. “It’s a classic Italian soup with pasta and white beans, but I make it easier with a 16-bean mix.”

Related: Our 20 Most Popular 20-Minute Winter Dinner Recipes

Using that beany shortcut is an easy way to make things just a little simpler when it comes to grocery shopping and recipe prep. On the day before you plan to whip up a big batch of this hearty soup, you can simply soak the whole 1-pound bag of dry beans in a bowl with cold water, pop the bowl in the fridge and let the beans soak overnight. The next day, drain and rinse the beans and add them to a large pot with about 8 cups of water. Bring them to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and let them gently cook for about 1 hour.

Then you’ll need some pantry staples and a handful of other ingredients to make your soup. Gather up olive oil, pancetta, onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, crushed tomatoes, dry red wine, chicken stock, miniature pasta, Parmesan cheese, red wine vinegar and some chopped fresh basil for garnish.

Related: Valerie Bertinelli's Current Favorite Snack Is Packed with 10 Grams of Protein

You’ll cook the onion and pancetta together in oil in your favorite soup pot over medium-high heat for several minutes, until everything is nice and brown. Then add in the garlic, red pepper flakes and combine, cooking a little longer until fragrant. Then you’re ready to add in the tomatoes, chicken stock, salt and pepper. Stir everything up and cut the heat, then you’ll add the beans.

You’ll add most of the beans—about two thirds—to the pot once they’re finished simmering, but run the others through a food mill or similar gadget to puree. Toss whatever loose skins remain after you’ve processed them. (If you don’t have a food mill, using a food processor or a blender is your next-best option.) Add the bean puree and whatever pasta you’re using to the soup and bring everything back up to a boil. Let the soup simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes, until your pasta is tender.

Ina calls for a little extra chicken stock for this recipe—if the soup is too thick, you may need to thin it out with some broth before serving. When the texture is perfect, add Parmesan and red wine vinegar, stir everything up and dish it up by the bowlful. Offer everyone some of that fresh basil as a garnish, and you’re good to go.

Related: Alton Brown's No-Knead Bread Is Perfect for Dipping in Soup

To make things even more delicious, you could serve your soup with a light salad, like our Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad, and a piece of crusty bread. With tons of fiber- and protein-packed beans in every bite, this soup is definitely filling enough to stand on its own, too.

Ina has already revealed that another of her favorite soups is her creamy, sweet-and-savory Butternut Squash and Apple Soup, which is a pretty delicious way to use up some winter produce. We’ll be on the edge of our seats all week to find out what other soups are in Ina’s hall of fame.

Read the original article on Eating Well.