Murphy's Law: Christmas Edition

It's been a long week in our household. I had to cancel Christmas due to a lovely cough and fever, which I'm just now getting over, and my husband has just started developing.

Since I'm finally starting to feel well enough to cook, it's time for soup! The first time I ever saw Rachel Ray on TV, she was making her version of this soup. I didn't write down the directions, so I'm not sure how accurate this replication is, but the husband approves.

As with all my soup recipes, the ingredients and measurements are more like guidelines. Use your own judgement, and tweak it 'til you find your perfect blend!

Pasta Fagioli
bacon (or pancetta, if you're fancy)
sweet onion
2-4 ribs celery
2-4 carrots
chicken broth, chicken stock, or chicken bouillon
~1 C noodles or short pasta
4-8 oz mushrooms, fresh or canned
1 can white beans (butter beans, navy beans, etc)

Start by placing 3-6 slices of bacon on a cutting board and using a large, sharp knife to cut across the slices, making ~1/8" wide bacon rectangles. Turn the cutting board and slice the bacon the other way, so that you have a pile of bacon cubes. (If you're smart, it'll occur to you before you start cutting that this may be easier if you put the bacon slices in the freezer for 5-10 minutes to firm them up a little.)

Dump the bacon pieces into your soup pot, over medium-low heat. Chop your onion while the bacon gets started cooking. I had a huge onion and a small soup pot, so I only chopped half my onion, but if you're making a larger batch, go for the whole thing. Dump the onion in with the bacon and give everything a stir. We want to sauté everything, so the bacon gets crispy and the onions just start to brown but not burn, so give the pan contents a stir every time you add something or walk past the stove while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. Turn the heat down a little if seems like things are cooking too fast.

Rinse the other veggies well, peeling them if you feel it necessary, and adding each to the pot as you finish preparing them. I just scrub the carrots and trim off the ends. If your celery is nice and fresh, you can chop the whole rib, adding leaves and everything to the soup. If your celery is turning yellow and the ends are less than fresh, trim that off and chop up the firm parts. If you have any other firm veggies that you'd like to add to the soup, do that now. I slice the carrots last, then add the chicken broth.  I used 5 C today because it was a really small pot, but more is probably better because the pan's getting a bit crowded now. This would also be a good place to add a dash of your favorite Italian spices. Maybe 1/2 tsp thyme and basil? (I forgot. Husband didn't care that much because, bacon.)

Bring the soup to a boil, turn down to medium, and let simmer for 5 minutes or so. Then add a couple handfuls of pasta and let continue simmering for at least as long as the directions say to let the pasta cook. (This varies by shape. My egg noodles were 7 minutes, but the bow tie pasta I almost used was 14. Rice would probably take 20-30 minutes.) If you're using fresh mushrooms, you want to add them to the soup about 10 minutes before cook time is finished. This gives them enough time to soften, but not get mushy.

Meanwhile, pour the beans into a strainer and rinse all the can goop off of them. When the pasta is done, stir in the beans and turn off the heat. Let the soup sit for a few minutes before serving. Garnish with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese, if you wish.

Options:  If you like, you can add a can of diced tomatoes and their juices at the same time as the chicken broth. I prefer mine without. If you use canned mushrooms, drain them and add at the same time as the beans. Of course, if you're vegetarian or don't have bacon handy, you can skip the bacon and use olive oil to sauté the veggies. Vegetarians will use vegetable stock in place of chicken broth, naturally.