Italian Style Pasta e Fagioli Soup with Dry Cured Lardons
- Prep time: 10 minutes
- Cook time: 30 minutes
- Yield: Serves 6
- O’Neills Dry Cured Bacon Lardons (150g)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion (chopped finely)
- 4 medium carrots (chopped finely)
- 4 celery stalks (chopped finely)
- 3-4 cloves garlic grated or 1 tbsp garlic granules
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- Salt and black pepper
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 2 tins of chopped tomatoes
- 2 chicken/ vegetable stock cubes
- 2 tins of mixed beans
- 250g of dried pasta (ideally small macaroni)
- 1 Parmesan rind
- 3-4 bay leaves
- 100g Irish kale (remove the stalk and roughly chopped)
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- Freshly chopped basil
- Drizzle of olive oil
- In a large pot with the olive oil, begin by cooking the lardons over a medium heat. When cooked, remove and set aside.
- In the same pot, now add the onions, celery & carrots. Allow them to cook for 5-6 minutes until they have softened.
- Add the garlic, followed by the oregano, thyme, salt and pepper. Combine all ingredients well and allow 1-2 minutes for the garlic to cook a little.
- Next add in the tomato purée, followed by the two tins of chopped tomatoes and stir.
- Prepare the stock now by combining 500ml boiling water and the stock cube until they have completely dissolved. Add the stock to the pot. Then top up the pot with a further 1500ml.
- Add in the Parmesan rind, the bay leaves, the cooked lardons and the mixed beans.
- Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes
- Now add the pasta and cook for a further 10 minutes
- Then add the kale and cook for another 5 minutes, remove the Parmesan and bay leaves before serving.
- To serve, garnish with fresh chopped basil, grated Parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil