½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
4 cups homemade or low-sodium canned chicken stock
Two 15-ounce cans red kidney beans, with their liquid
2 bay leaves
1 cup small pasta, such as shells, ditali, or elbows
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Pour the tomatoes into a medium bowl and squeeze each
one through your fingers to break it up into small pieces
(be careful—they can squirt). Set aside.
- Heat the olive oil and butter in a large saucepan over
medium-high heat until the butter is melted. If using
pancetta, add it to the pan and cook, stirring constantly,
until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to
medium, add the onion, garlic, oregano, and red pepper
flakes, and cook, stirring, until the onion is fragrant and
softened but not browned, about 3 minutes. Add the
tomatoes, with their juice, the chicken stock, kidney
beans, and bay leaves, bring to a boil over high heat, and
then reduce to a bare simmer. Cook for 20 minutes,
adding the pasta to the soup for the last 5 to 10 minutes
(depending on the package directions). - Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper. Discard the
bay leaves, stir in the parsley, and serve, drizzling each
serving with olive oil.