Pasta E Fagioli

1  tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

3 ounces pancetta, or bacon, chopped fine

2 sweet italian sausages

1 medium onion, chopped fine (about 1 cup)

1 medium rib celery, chopped fine (about 2/3 cup)

4 medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 heaping tablespoon)

1  teaspoon dried oregano

Other spices I added : Paprika, basil, adobo, and a couple of splashes of hot sauce.

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes with liquid—I only used1/2 of can

Parmesan cheese rind, one piece about 5 inches by 2 inches, discarded prior to serving (if you have it)

1 can (15 ounces each) cannellini beans,drained and rinsed

1 bunch of kale-Chopped

3 ½  cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 teaspoon table salt

8 ounces small pasta (ditalini, tubettini, conchigliette)

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley leaves

2  ounces grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 cup)

Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown, 3 to 5 minutes.

Remove pancetta, add sausage and cook, breaking up the sausage to small pieces, cook till cook through. Remove sausage from pan.

Add onion and celery to pan; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, 5 to 7 minutes.

Add garlic and oregano, and other spices if wanted; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add 1/2 of the tomatoes (reserve remaining tomatoes and put in the soup if wanted), scraping up any browned bits from bottom of pan.

Add cheese rind and beans and chicken broth, Parmesan rind and soy sauce

Add a little salt (soy, parmesan and beans can be salty) taste to see how much salt to add) and pepper; increase heat to high and bring to boil.

Cook pasta according to directions in separate pot. I don’t like cooking my pasta in the soup.

Discard cheese rind.

Ladle soup into individual bowls; with added desired amount of pasta.