Pasta Fagioli Soup

The new year settled in quietly on the farm. January fourth, the world returned to its ordinary shape after the brief holiday softening, and I returned to mine. Carol drove back to Stowe on the second; the Christmas tree came down on the third; on the fourth I woke up to a hard frost and twelve degrees and a sky that was brilliantly clear, the kind of Vermont January morning that is beautiful and indifferent in equal measure.

Made a big batch of lentil and sausage soup — the January soup, the warming practical soup of cold months, nothing fancy about it but deeply satisfying. Smoked sausage from the Hendersons, lentils I'd had in the cabinet for months, root vegetables from the cellar. It made eight servings and I've been working through them all week. There's a particular rightness to a pot of soup in January. You make it once and it feeds you for days, which is how winter cooking should work.

The vaccine news continues to develop. I've been reading carefully, tracking the Vermont distribution timeline. The farm community — older residents, essential workers — is supposed to be in a reasonably early phase. I've been patient this year about most things and I find I'm patient about this too, but I notice the patience is not effortless the way it was in the spring. You get tired, eventually, of waiting for the same thing.

Called Ted Marchand to check in. He's been inside more with the cold and I wanted to make sure he was all right. He said he was fine, just reading too much news. I said: I know the feeling. He said: put the radio on instead, something with music. I said he was right. I put the classical station on and made a pie. That's the prescription.

The soup I made that week wasn’t this one exactly — mine leaned on lentils and the Hendersons’ smoked sausage — but pasta fagioli is cut from the same cloth: a big, honest pot of something warm that asks very little of you and gives a great deal back. It’s the recipe I reach for when the days are short and the pantry is what it is, and it has the same quality I value most in January cooking — it feeds you more than once. Make it on a quiet afternoon with the classical station on, and you’ll be glad you did come Thursday.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour | Servings: 8

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound Italian sausage, casings removed
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
2 cans (15 oz each) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 cup ditalini or small elbow pasta, uncooked
2 cups fresh spinach or chopped kale
Salt and black pepper to taste
Grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

Instructions

Brown the sausage. Heat olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking it up with a spoon, until browned and cooked through, about 6–8 minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
Soften the vegetables. In the same pot, add the onion, carrots, and celery. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute until fragrant.
Build the base. Stir in the diced tomatoes, cannellini beans, chicken broth, rosemary, thyme, and red pepper flakes. Return the sausage to the pot and bring everything to a gentle boil.
Simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes, allowing the flavors to come together. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed.
Cook the pasta. Add the pasta directly to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until just tender, about 8–10 minutes. The pasta will continue to absorb liquid as it sits — add a splash of broth when reheating leftovers.
Finish with greens. Stir in the spinach or kale and cook for 1–2 minutes until wilted. Remove from heat.
Serve. Ladle into bowls and top with freshly grated Parmesan. The soup keeps well refrigerated for up to 5 days and is even better the next day.

Nutrition (per serving)

Pasta Fagioli Soup — The January Pot That Feeds You All Week