Recipe - Pasta Bean Potage

4 teaspoon Olive oil
1 Onion, chopped finely
1 Garlic clove, chopped
Finely
1 Carrot, cut or sliced up
1 Celery stick, cut or sliced up
1 Leek, cut or sliced up
4 ounce (120 g) cooked ham, cut into
One half inch 1 cm) cubes
7 ounce (2 1 0 g) canned cannellini
Beans, rinsed and drained
1 One half pt (900 ml) chicken stock
2 ounce 60 g) pasta spirals
4 lg Tomatoes, skinned, deseeded
And chopped
1 tablespoon Chopped fresh oregano
1 tablespoon Chopped fresh marjoram
Salt and freshly ground
Black pepper

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion, garlic, carrot, celery
and leek and cook gently for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the ham
and cook for 5 minutes more. 2. Stir in the beans, stock and pasta spirals.
Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat, cover and simmer gently for 20
minutes. 3. Add the tomatoes, oregano and marjoram and simmer gently for 5
minutes more. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 4. Serve, piping hot,
in warm soup bowls. Preparation time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 35 minutes
Freezing recommended Pasta and Beans (pasta e fagioli) is a typical Italian
combination. This hearty winterwarmer is a meal in itself. Substitute the
cannellini beans with borlotti or haricot beans for a change.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini