Italian pasta and bean soup

It’s pasta fagioli in Italian, but what it really is is a delicious, hearty soup perfect for chilly nights and hungry kids.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 14.5-oz. cans stewed
• tomatoes
• 2 14-oz. cans reduced-sodium chicken broth (can substitute vegetable broth)
• 1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley
• Dried basil and oregano (about 1 tsp. of each)
• 4 cans Cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 pound ditalini or tiny shell pasta

Directions:

1. Sauté onion in the olive oil. Add the garlic and cook until soft. Add the tomatoes, chicken broth, parsley, pepper, basil and oregano. (If desired, lightly mash the tomatoes before adding them.)
2. After bringing it to a boil, add the beans. Bring to a boil again, lower the heat and simmer for a half hour. In the meantime, boil water for the pasta. Cook the pasta al dente and drain, reserving about two cups of the pasta water. Add the pasta to the soup along with enough pasta water to thin to desired consistency.
3. Serve with freshly grated Romano cheese along with crusty Italian bread.