A soup/stew that’s very robust and flexible (the first time I made it, I didn’t have time to go to the store, so I used bacon instead of pancetta, skipped the anchovies, added a little more pepper flakes and used a different pasta). Originally from Cooks Illustrated.
Prep/hands on: 5 minutes; start to finish: 30 minutes +/-
Ingredients
- 2 ounces pancetta, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 small carrot, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 small celery rib, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 onion, halved and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 (14-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, drained
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for serving
- 1 anchovy fillet, rinsed, patted dry, and minced
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
- 2 (15-ounce) can chickpeas (do not drain)
- 2 cups water
- Salt and pepper
- 8 ounces (1 1/2 cups) ditalini
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
- 1 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated (1/2 cup)
Directions:
- Process pancetta in food processor until ground to paste, about 30 seconds. Add carrot, celery, and garlic and pulse until finely chopped, 8 to 10 pulses. Add onion and pulse until onion is cut into 1/8 – to – 1/4-inch pieces, 8 to 10 pulses.
- Transfer mixture to large Dutch oven or soup pot. Pulse tomatoes in now-empty food processor until coarsely chopped, 8 to 10 pulses. Set aside.
- Add oil to pancetta mixture in Dutch oven and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until fond begins to form on bottom of pot, about 5 minutes.
- Add anchovy, pepper flakes, and rosemary and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Stir in tomatoes, chickpeas and their liquid, water, and 1 teaspoon salt and bring to boil, scraping up any browned bits.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add pasta and cook, stirring frequently, until tender, 10 to 12 minutes.
- Stir in lemon juice and parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve, passing Parmesan and oil separately.
