Italian Pasta and Bean Soup

Ingredients: 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium onion -- finely chopped

2 cloves garlic -- minced

1 medium carrot, peeled -- cut into 1/4 dice

1 large celery stalk -- cut into 1/4" dice

4 cups great northern beans, cooked -- (1-1/2 cup Dry)

7 cups cooking liquid from beans or water.

2 cups zucchini -- diced

2 bay leaves

1 1/2 teaspoons Italian Herb Mix

1/4 cup tomato paste

1 1/2 cups pasta -- ditalini (tiny tubes

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Pick over beans, then rinse thoroughly. Put the 1 1/2 cups beans in a large bowl with 4 times more water than beans and leave to soak over night. Drain off soaking water and put beans in a heavy skillet or saucepan with the specified about of water. Bring the beans to a boil, lower the heat, cover and simmer until tender.

Heat the olive oil in a soup pot. Add the onion, garlic, carrot and celery and saut? over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the onion is golden. Add the beans, cooking liquid or water, zucchini, bay leaves, herb mix and tomato paste. Bring to a boil lower heat, and then simmer gently covered until the zucchini is just tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow the soup to stand for an hour or so to develop flavor.

In a separate saucepan, cook the pasta al dente. Rinse briefly under cool water until it stops steaming. Add the parsley to the soup and heat it through. When the soup is hot, add the cooked pasta and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve at once.

Per servings: Calories 234, Total fat 5g, protein 10g, carbohydrates 40g, cholesterol 0g, sodium 19mg.