Minus the pasta, this soup spans at least three generations. My mother learned it from her father. Then, it became one of my father’s favourites. He is particularly fond of beans, and this is a thick soup of all beans and very little else. The little else, though, is garlic and parsley, which give cannellini beans an immensely satisfying flavour. I’ve added pasta to make the soup substantial enough for a meal.

One of my favourite restaurants in Verona is Il Pompiere. They make a pasta dish when peas are in season that is thoroughly infused with their sweet flavour. Marco, the chef/owner, was kind enough to share his secret with me. It’s actually very simple. Once the peas are tender, half are pureed until creamy and mixed back into the sauce.

I recommend using beef chuck, which is about 20% fat, to keep the sauce moist. If you will be using a leaner cut, add a tablespoon of butter.

Giuliano’s first book, The Classic Pasta Cookbook, sold more than half a million copies worldwide, so it obviously hit the spot for many people. He went onto write several others, including Every Night Italian, and How to Cook Italian, but I found several more, new gems in his last book, Thirty Minute Pasta: 100 Quick and Easy Recipes.

FOOD fads come and go, but the craving for Italian food endures; a few, really simple pasta recipes are a must in everyone’s repertoire and where better to seek them out than in Giuliano Hazan’s books.