Enjoy a little taste of Italy to warm up a chilly January evening. This hearty soup comes together in just 15 minutes in a single saucepan. I added orecchiette. These are small, concave, disk-shaped pasta that beautifully capture the rich flavors of the broth.

The result is a comforting, satisfying vegetarian dinner.

HELPFUL HINTS:

For quick preparation, buy diced fresh onion, carrot and celery in the produce section of the market.

Any type of short cut pasta such as penne can be used instead of orecchiette.

Northern white beans can be used instead of cannellini beans.

COUNTDOWN:

Assemble ingredients.

Start soup.

While soup simmers, boil pasta in a separate pot.

SHOPPING LIST:

To buy: one bunch celery, 1 container peeled carrots, 1 container reduced sodium vegetable broth, 1 can reduced sodium cannellini beans, 1 can reduced sodium plum tomatoes, 1 container orecchiette pasta and 1 small piece Parmesan cheese.

Staples: olive oil, onion, garlic, salt and black peppercorns.

Italian Bean Soup

Recipe by Linda Gassenheimer

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup diced onion

1/2 cup diced carrots

1/2 cup diced celery

2 large crushed garlic cloves

1 1/2 cups reduced sodium vegetable broth

2 cups rinsed and drained cannellini beans

1 cup canned reduced sodium plum tomatoes

Salt and pepper

3/4 cup orecchiette pasta

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery and garlic. Saute until vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes, stirring often. Add broth, beans and tomatoes. Break up tomatoes with the edge of a spoon. Bring to a simmer, lower heat to medium and cover pan with a lid. Simmer 5 minutes. While soup cooks, bring a large pot 3/4 full of water to a boil and add the pasta. Boil 8 minutes or according to package instructions. Drain. When soup is ready, add the pasta and simmer 3 minutes. Ladle warm soup into two soup bowls. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir to combine ingredients in bowl. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top.

Yield 2 servings.

Per serving: 574 calories (16 percent from fat), 10.1 g fat (2.2 g saturated, 3.8 g monounsaturated), 4 mg cholesterol, 28.4 g protein,97.4 g carbohydrates, 18.6 g fiber, 243 mg sodium.

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