What Can I Do With Left Over Pasta E Fagioli?

Our answer

Nigella's Pasta E Fagioli (from NIGELLA BITES is Nigella's version of the hearty Northern Italian soup. The recipe serves 8 and is easily halved.

Pasta cooked in any soup will soften more as the soup stands, as the pasta continues to absorb liquid. Some people prefer the very soft pasta texture on reheating. The soup will also thicken on standing, so leftovers should be thinned with a little vegetable stock or water, but only when you reheat them. You can freeze leftovers but the pasta will still be quite soft. Alternatively, if you want to avoid soft pasta you could cook the beans just up to the point before the pasta is added. Cool, divide into 8 equal portions and refrigerate for up to three days or freeze for up to 3 months. When you want to eat the soup, gently heat one portion of the beans in a saucepan with a little extra water until just boiling, add 25g ditalini and simmer until the ditalini is cooked to your liking, adding extra water if needed. You can then fairly quickly have one, two or more portions with freshly-cooked pasta, depending on how many people will eat the soup that day.