1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped onion
3 tablespoons chopped carrot
3 tablespoons chopped celery
3 or 4 pork ribs,
OR a ham bone with some lean meat attached,
OR 2 little pork chops
2/3 cup canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, cut up, with their juice,
OR fresh tomatoes, if ripe and firm, peeled and cut up
2 pound fresh cranberry beans, unshelled weight,
OR 1 cup dried cranberry or red kidney beans,
soaked and cooked as described below *
OR 3 cups canned cranberry or red kidney beans, drained
3 cups (or more if needed) [beef stock]
OR 1 cup canned beef broth diluted with 2 cups water
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
Either maltagliati pasta, homemade [instructions included in cookbook],
OR 1/2 pound small, tubular macaroni
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1. Put the olive oil and chopped onion in a soup pot and turn on the heat to medium. Cook the onion, stirring it, until it becomes colored a pale gold.
2. Add the carrot and celery, stir once or twice to coat them well, then add the pork. Cook for about 10 minutes, turned the meat and the vegetables over from time to time with a wooden spoon.
3. Add the cut-up tomatoes and their juice, adjust the heat so that the juice simmer very gently, and cook for 10 minutes.
4. If using fresh beans: Shell them, rinse them in cold water, and put them in the soup pot. Stir 2 or 3 times to coat them well, then add the broth/stock. Cover the pot, adjust the heat so that the broth bubbles at a steady, but gentle boil, and cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the beans are fully tender.
If using cooked dried beans or the canned: Extend the cooking time for the tomatoes in Step 3 to 20 minutes. Add the drained cooked or canned beans, stirring them thoroughly to coat them well. Cook for 5 minutes, then add the broth/stock, cover the pot, and bring the broth/stock to a gentle boil.
5. Scoop up about 1/2 cup of the beans and mash them through a food mil back into the pot. Add salt, a few grindings of black pepper, and stir thoroughly.
6. Check the soup for density: It should be liquid enough to cook the pasta in. If necessary, add more broth, or, if you are using diluted canned broth, more water. When the soup has come to a steady, moderate boil, add the pasta. If you are using homemade pasta, taste for doneness after 1 minute. If you are using macaroni pasta, it will take several minutes longer, but stop the cooking when the pasta is tender, but still firm to the bite. Before turning off the heat, swirl in 1 tablespoon of butter and the grated cheese.
7. Pour the soup into a large serving bowl or into individual plates, and allow to settle for 10 minutes before serving. It tastes best when eaten warm, rather than piping hot.

Variation with Rice

The same soup is delicious with rice. Substitute 1 cup of rice, preferably Italian Arborio rice, for the pasta. Follow all other steps as given above.

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