Pasta e Fagioli

Heat the olive oil in a heavy pan over medium heat.

Add the onion, carrot and celery and cook gently for 12 minutes, until soft and sweet without colouring.

Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.

Stir in the tomato puree and cook for 30 seconds.

Add the beans, the stock, the rosemary and the bay leaf.

Simmer for 25 minutes, until the beans are completely tender.

Lift out the rosemary and bay.

Scoop out a third of the beans with a little liquid, crush them to a rough paste, and stir them back in.

Bring the pot back to a steady simmer and add the pasta and the salt.

Cook for the time on the packet, stirring often, since the pasta will catch on the base as the pot thickens.

Add hot water a splash at a time if it goes past thick into stiff.

Let it stand off the heat for 5 minutes, which is when it comes together.

Serve with grated cheese and a thread of olive oil over each bowl.