Ingredients
1 pound (454g) dried beans, such as cranberry (borlotti) beans or cannellini beans, soaked overnight in salted water (see notes)
Kosher or sea salt
6 cloves garlic, peeled
1 medium onion, peeled and halved
2 medium carrots, peeled and halved crosswise
2 ribs celery, halved crosswise
3 large sprigs fresh sage and/or rosemary
1/2 pound (227g) small pasta, such as ditalini or small shells
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Freshly ground black pepper
Preparations
In a large pot, cover beans with lightly salted water by at least 2 inches. Add garlic, onion, carrots, celery, and rosemary or sage. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to a bare simmer and cook, covered, until beans are very tender and creamy with no graininess left, 45 to 90 minutes, depending on type of bean. Beans can also be cooked in a pressure cooker at low pressure for 25 minutes. Discard onions, garlic, carrots, celery, and herbs. Drain beans, reserving beans and liquid separately. You should have about 6 cups of cooked beans.
Measure out 3 cups of cooked beans, setting the remaining beans (approximately 3 cups) aside. In a blender jar, combine the 3 cups of beans with 4 cups bean-cooking water and blend until completely smooth. Return bean puree to pot and add reserved cooked beans.
In a small pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta until just short of al dente (about 3 minutes less than cooking time on package). Drain, then transfer to a bowl or container and drizzle with a small amount of olive oil, tossing to lightly coat.
When ready to serve, bring to a simmer, thinning with additional bean-cooking water until soup reaches a lightly creamy consistency. Season with salt, if needed. Spoon in cooked pasta and simmer just until warmed through. Serve right away, drizzling fresh olive oil on top and a generous grinding of black pepper.
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