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1
Add your fresh or dried and soaked beans to a pan of water with the bay leaf, squashed tomato and potato this will help to flavour the beans and soften their skins.
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2
Cook until tender check by tasting.
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3
They must be soft.
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4
Dried beans can take up to an hour, but check fresh ones after 25 minutes.
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5
Drain (reserving about half a glass of the cooking water), and discard the bay leaf, tomato and potato.
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6
Now season with salt, pepper and a splash of oil.
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7
While the beans are cooking, make your soffrito.
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8
Heat a good splash of olive oil in a saucepan and add the chopped pancetta or bacon, onions, carrots, celery, fennel, garlic and the finely sliced basil stalks.
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9
Sweat very slowly on a low heat, with the lid just ajar, for around 15 to 20 minutes until soft, but not brown.
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10
Add the tomatoes, courgettes and red wine and simmer gently for 15 minutes.
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11
Now add the chard or spinach, stock and beans.
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12
Put the dried pasta into a plastic bag, squeeze all the air out and tie the end up.
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13
Bash gently with a rolling pin to break the pasta into pieces.
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14
Snip the end off the bag and empty the contents into the soup.
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15
Stir and continue to simmer until the pasta is cooked.
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16
If you think the soup is looking too thick, add a little more stock or some of the reserved cooking water to thin it down a bit.
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17
Then taste and season with salt and pepper.
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18
Serve sprinkled with the torn-up basil leaves and with some extra virgin olive oil drizzled over the top.
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19
Put a block of Parmesan and a grater on the table for everyone to help themselves.
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20
Heaven!
