BEAN AND PASTA SOUP

[julietksks]

Ingredients:

5 Fresh Sage Leaves
16 ounces Dried Cannellini Beans (or white beans)
1 tsp Rosemary Leaves (fresh)
1/2 tsp Cayenne Flakes
6 cups Water
2 tbsp Tomato Paste
3 cloves Garlic (minced)
2 cloves Garlic
9 tbsp Olive Oil
Salt (as per taste)
Pepper (as per taste)
8 oz Ziti or Tubular Pasta (short)

Method:

Soak the beans a night before in cold water. In the morning, drain and rinse them.
Take a large stew pot and put beans in it, along with whole garlic, water, sage leaves and 3 tbsp oil.
Bring the beans to a boil and cook them on simmer for approximately 1 hour. Make sure they are tender.
In the meantime, take a small skillet and heat 6 tbsp of oil and garlic and stir for 1 minute.
Now, add cayenne pepper flakes, tomato paste, salt, pepper and fresh rosemary leaves in it and stir again.
Take the cooked beans and add the above mixture in it. Stir well again.
Pass soup through food mill, pour it in the stew pot and cook on low heat, till it is slightly thick.
Cook the short pasta in a pot, with water and salt added to it, until it becomes soft. Drain the water and add soup in it.
Again cook it for 15 minutes and serve hot.