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One day ahead: Combine the cannellini beans and 4 cups of water in a large pot that has a tight-fitting lid.
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Soak the beans for 24 hours.
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The day of serving: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
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Drain the beans.
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In a Dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot, combine the beans, onion, carrot, celery, salt, and 16 cups of water.
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Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until fully cooked and creamy, 4 to 4 1/2 hours.
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Let cool.
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While the beans are cooking, combine the garlic, olive oil, rosemary, and chile in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
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When the oil begins to bubble, reduce the heat to low and cook the garlic in the oil until the cloves are soft and tender, 30 to 45 minutes; be careful not to brown the garlic.
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Remove from the heat, leave in the pan, and let cool.
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Strain the cannellini beans, reserving the cooking liquid, and add the beans back to the Dutch oven.
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Add the garlic-olive oil mixture to the beans and stir to incorporate.
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Bring to a simmer over medium heat and then turn down to low and cook together for 10 minutes, stirring frequently to incorporate the ingredients into the beans.
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Set aside.
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Remove the rosemary sprigs and chile pod and discard.
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In a small saute pan over medium heat, cook the pancetta until tender but not crispy, 4 to 5 minutes.
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Remove from the heat and set aside.
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Working in small batches, use a blender to puree the bean mixture by adding a small amount (about 1/4 cup) of the reserved bean cooking liquid to the beans in the blender and pureeing to a smooth, pourable soup consistency.
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Repeat with the entire bean mixture.
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To serve: Warm the soup over medium heat, carefully stirring in more cooking liquid from the beans if the soup thickens while warming.
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Ladle about 1 cup of soup in each bowl; divide the ditalini between the 4 servings, placing it in a small pile in the center of the soup.
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Sprinkle the pancetta over each pile of the ditalini, drizzle a little of the olive oil over the top and finish with a little freshly cracked black pepper.
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Serve immediately.
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This recipe was provided by professional chefs and has been scaled down from a bulk recipe provided by a restaurant.
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The Food Network Kitchens chefs have not tested this recipe, in the proportions indicated, and therefore, we cannot make any representation as to the results.
