014 / 75 · One Pot on the Road
Beef, Bean and Tiny Pasta Soup
About 6 cups (1.4 liters); 2 generous supper bowls · Active 25 min · Total 50 min
Print recipe · PDFA little ground beef, a can of beans and a handful of tiny pasta make a full soup rather than a thin broth with a few floating ingredients. Carrot and celery are diced small so they soften in the time available. The pasta cooks in the same pot and releases enough starch to give the soup a little body. Choose a saucepan with headroom; stirring a nearly full pot on a small stove is awkward even before it begins to simmer.
A soup shape is worth seeking
Ditalini, small shells or another tiny soup pasta distributes more evenly than a handful of large penne. Check the packet time rather than assuming every small shape cooks in ten minutes. The pasta continues absorbing liquid after cooking, so leave the soup slightly looser than you want in the bowl. A little extra drinking-quality hot water is more useful than turning the burner up and boiling the stock away.
Brown the meat, soften the dice
Break the beef into small pieces while it browns. Large tight clumps are harder to divide between two bowls and can hide an undercooked center. The finely diced onion, carrot and celery then cook in the same pot, collecting the browned juices. Tomato paste gets a brief turn before the liquid enters. The beans are already cooked and join later; a long early boil can split them and turn a pleasantly chunky soup into a uniform mash.
A bowl now and a bowl later need different handling
Serve two portions immediately if you can. If one is for another day, reserve it before settling down to eat, transfer it to a shallow container and refrigerate promptly. Do not leave half a deep saucepan on the stove for the evening. Reheat the stored portion with a small splash of water because the pasta will have thickened it. This is a deliberate small batch, but it still requires enough cold space for any portion you plan to keep.
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil (10 ml)
- 7 oz ground beef (200 g)
- 1 small onion, finely diced (100 g)
- 1 medium carrot, finely diced (100 g)
- 1 celery stalk, finely diced (50 g)
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped (3 g)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste (15 g)
- 1 teaspoon dried mixed Italian herbs (1 g)
- 1 cup passata or plain tomato puree (240 ml)
- 2 1/2 cups low-sodium beef stock (600 ml)
- 2 1/2 oz tiny dried pasta, such as ditalini (70 g)
- 1 can cannellini beans (15 oz/425 g), drained and rinsed to yield about 1 1/3 cups (240 g)
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt (1.5 g)
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper (0.5 g)
- 2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan (15 g), to serve
Set out
At least 2.5-liter (2.6-quart) saucepan with lid, Wooden spoon, Instant-read thermometer, Shallow container if saving a portion
Allergens
Wheat, Milk; check stock for celery and other allergens. Check labels and substitutions.
Make it
- Heat oil in the saucepan over medium heat. Cook the beef for 5–7 minutes, breaking it into small pieces, until browned and 160°F/71°C. Add onion, carrot and celery and cook for 6–8 minutes, stirring, until beginning to soften.
- Stir in garlic, tomato paste and dried herbs for 1 minute. Add passata and stock and bring to a gentle simmer. Cover partly and cook for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the pasta, beans, salt and pepper. Simmer uncovered for the pasta package time, usually 8–12 minutes, stirring often from the bottom, until pasta and carrot are tender. Add hot drinking-quality water by the tablespoon if it becomes too thick.
- Divide into two generous bowls and top each with half the Parmesan. If saving a portion, refrigerate it promptly in a shallow container before eating the other serving.
Use a modest spoon and a deep-enough pot
Headroom matters more than the pot’s outside diameter. Check its stated capacity and the appliance’s stability limits before using it on the stove.
A useful detail
The stated yield is approximate because pasta shapes and evaporation differ. The finished soup should have enough liquid to spoon around its beef, vegetables and beans.
Another way
- Use small elbow macaroni if tiny soup pasta is unavailable, following its cooking time.
- Replace cannellini with canned red kidney beans at the same drained weight.
Keep it well
Refrigerate shallow portions within 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F/32°C, at 40°F/4°C or below for up to 3 days. Reheat while stirring to 165°F/74°C, adding a little water to replace what the pasta absorbs. Freeze promptly for up to 1 month; thaw in the refrigerator. The pasta becomes softer after freezing.