Last weekend in Southern California featured the kind of weather that makes you want to get into your pajamas (preferably flannel) as soon as possible, and not change back out of them. After driving home in the rain and the winter dark and getting honked at because I couldn’t even see the white lines demarcating my lane, and not having so much as milk for hot chocolate since the parking lot at Trader Joe’s had looked too crowded to brave, I had to raid the pantry. Fortunately, I had just what I needed for my favorite bean and pasta soup.

There are a lot of versions of bean and pasta soup - or pasta e fagioli if you will, but what’s the big deal about just saying “pasta and beans” in Italian? - but so far, this one is my favorite. It’s the powerful aroma of rosemary that does it for me. What’s great is that you don’t even need chicken broth, which I’m always running out of … the flavor comes from garlic, rosemary, good canned tomatoes and pancetta or bacon. I guess if you don’t eat pork, you might want to use chicken broth and throw in a rind or chunk of Parmesan for more diversity of flavor. It might even be able to go vegetarian, I don’t know … and I never will.

Rosemary-scented bean and pasta soup
From Cook’s Illustrated
Serves 3-4

1/8 cup olive oil
2 oz pancetta or bacon, diced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and bruised
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes with liquid (about 1 cup)
1 can (16 oz) chickpeas (about 1.5 cups), half of them mashed with a fork, reserving liquid if it’s not too salty
4 oz penne
Salt, freshly ground pepper
Chopped rosemary
Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano-Reggiano, freshly grated

Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Saute pancetta or bacon for a few minutes until slightly browned. Add garlic and rosemary sprig and saute a couple minutes longer, until fragrant. Add tomatoes with their liquid, chickpeas and their liquid, and about 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer about 10 minutes just to blend the flavors. Add salt to taste, then the penne, and cook till tender. Remove the rosemary sprig and serve, topping each bowl with some pepper, chopped rosemary and grated cheese.
Note: Once you’ve cooked the pasta in the soup, it doesn’t keep well - the pasta will get soggy. If you’re not going to eat all the soup right away, you might want to cook the penne separately and add it to the portion you’re serving.