You Should Cook Pasta With Leftover Bean Broth

For a country that could fit into the state of Nevada, Italy seems to suffer disproportionately from hyper-regionalism, especially when it comes to food. Take for example pasta e fagioli, which translates to “pasta with beans.” It’s simple enough, but travel around the country from top to bottom and you’ll find plenty of variations on this dish.

I hesitate to call what I prepared “pasta e fagioli,” although that’s exactly what it is: pasta with beans. There’s no meat or tomatoes, just tender noodles cooked in a 50/50 mixture of water and bean broth (with a little bean on top).

What’s so good about bean broth?

The beans make the soup themselves. If you’ve ever cooked beans from scratch, you’ve probably noticed that the cooking water becomes thick and cloudy. As it cools, it becomes a little jiggly, almost like high-collagen chicken broth. Beans don’t have collagen (though they do help with collagen production), but they do have a ton of starch, and starch is the key to the creamy pasta water that emulsifies into a silky sauce. It also tastes quite good – earthy, slightly sweet and nutty, with hints of your favorite beans.

How to cook pasta with bean broth

First, drain the remaining beans from the broth. Set the beans aside and add the bean broth to a medium-sized, high-sided saucepan. Pour the pasta of your choice into the broth. (Small pans work best.) Add enough water to just cover the pasta, season it with salt (how much will depend on how much you season the bean broth), and add a few cloves of garlic, parmesan rind, or whatever else you like desire. season your bean broth. Cook pasta according to package instructions.

From here you have several options. You can eat the pasta and broth as a soup, adding some protein or veggies (throw in a few cherry tomatoes while the pasta cooks), or you can leave a couple cups (or all) of the broth and drain. pasta and add it back to the pan with a few drops of super starchy bean/pasta water. Add a little butter , a tablespoon at a time, stirring the pasta vigorously to create an emulsified sauce . Serve with leftover beans, a healthy sprinkle of Parma or Pecorino, and fresh lemon zest.