I spend an obscene amount of time researching food. Whether its ingredients, dishes, or techniques. As an avid consumer of food-related content, I feel like it’s my duty to try recipes I find online, so you don’t have to. The other night I tried Carla Lalli Music’s Pasta e Fagioli.

If you don’t know about her, she’s Bon Appetite’s Food Director. A very charismatic woman who inspires fondness for her food and just seems like a great guest to have over for dinner. But enough about her. The soup is fucking good, you should make it. Take a look at the recipe here.

A few adjustments I did: 

• I used canned beans: sue me. I didn’t have time to soak beans overnight as I made this recipe on a whim. If you’re using canned beans, add the beans about 20-30 minutes before the soup will be done or you’ll be eating. 
• I did not add a ham hock: I bet the ham adds a ton of flavor, depth and smokiness, however, I do not eat pork so I skipped this.
• I added more leeks, garlic, carrot, and onion than what the recipe called for: Since I skipped the ham ingredient, I added more veg to give it more flavor. The result is a soup with a bit of a lighter texture rather than a heaviness to it.
• I used a different type of pasta: Fussili is what I had available and it worked very well because soffrito and the tomato lodges itself to the ridges of the pasta making it much more enjoyable. I really like this. 

Overall thoughts of Carla Lalli Music’s Pasta e Fagioli:

Carla Lalli Music’s Pasta e Fagioli soup is comforting AF. It can be very heavy though, so you’re going to want to enjoy it with a glass of wine as an early dinner or for lunch. I recommend you wait until it’s very very cold outside or it’s raining or snowing and you’re trapped home because this soup is a project. It’ll take you about 3-4 hours to develop all of the flavors (if you’re making the recipe step by step) but it’s hella worth it. More bowl related posts here.