March 16th: Hearty Pasta & Bean Soup

After many days of eating this soup, I decided to toss the recipe, but if you're feeding a crowd and could use it up quickly, it was pretty good. From March 2014's Chatelaine: Hearty Pasta & Bean Soup.

Hearty Pasta & Bean Soup

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil*
1 onion, finely chopped
1 1/3 cups finely diced pancetta, (about 150 g) [I used bacon]
2 red potatoes, diced
2 900-mL cartons no-salt chicken broth
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 1/2 cups macaroni
540-mL can romano or borlotti beans, drained and rinsed
1/3 cup grated parmesan
2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
4 slices Italian bread, toasted
1 garlic clove, cut in half

HEAT a large pot over medium. Add 1 tbsp oil, then onion and pancetta. Cook until onion is soft, about 3 min. Add potatoes, broth, salt and rosemary. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, until potatoes are tender, about 15 min.

ADD pasta and continue cooking until pasta is tender, about 8 min. Stir in beans. Ladle soup into bowls and top with parmesan and parsley. Drizzle with 1 tbsp oil. Serve with toasted bread rubbed with garlic and drizzled with remaining 1 tbsp oil.

*I used regular olive oil for the frying, and extra virgin for the drizzling at the end.