Harvest Pasta e Fagioli Soup with Parmesan Crisps
Our family loves soup for dinner and Pasta e Fagioli is one my husband has been asking me to make since we were dating. He calls it Pasta Fazoooool which always makes me laugh. I think his Italian dad made this soup often... I wish I had his recipe. And now it's a favorite with our kids too, though like most things I make it a little differently every time. I love that I can make soup whenever I get a few free minutes and that our whole meal is in one pot. Leftovers are perfect to pack in lunchbox thermoses. A couple of weeks ago I posted Curried Pumpkin Lentil Soup, and judging by the positive responses (thank you, kind friends!) you all love soup for dinner too. My favorite comment was from Monica, who said, "I wanted to come back and post how the soup turned out. it was a huge hit. what shocked me is that my extremely picky 6 year old loved it. thanks so much for the recipe!" ... Yay - I love those comments. My girls both love soup for dinner, and our big 5 year old said this is her favorite soup yet. The beans and pasta make this veggie-rich recipe hearty enough to call a meal. 
I realized after I made the crisps that I had seen Giada de Laurentiis make them years ago (you know, when there was time to watch something other than Max and Ruby and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse) - so thank you Giada for the inspiration! While the crisps are still warm, you can cut a little notch using a paring knife so that they sit on the edge of a bowl. 
Warm, comforting, easy, and healthy. What could be better?
Harvest Pasta e Fagioli Soup
Serves 6
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion
1 carrot, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 small sweet potato, peeled and diced
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly cracked pepper
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon dried thyme
1 large sprig rosemary, plus more for garnish
6-7 cups vegetable broth
1 cup dry small pasta (I used mini bowties)
1 cooked Italian sausage, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2" pieces (I used Field Roast Vegan sausage)
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
½ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese or Parmesan crisps (recipe follows)
Heat oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery, and sweet potato. Stir in salt and pepper. Saute vegetables until tender, about 7 minutes. Add tomatoes, oregano, thyme, and rosemary, stir to combine. Add broth and bring to a low boil. Add pasta and simmer until al dente, according to package instructions. When pasta is about 2 minutes from being done, add the sausage, beans and parsley. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper. Serve with Parmesan cheese (this makes all the difference so don't skip!) or Parmesan Crisps and garnish with rosemary or parsley.
Parmesan Crisps
1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese (I used a Parmesan Romano blend)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Place cheese by the tablespoonful into disks on the parchment paper, leaving an inch between them. Bake for 5 minutes, or until golden brown. Watch closely to make sure crisps don't burn. Cool completely.
Yummy Mummy Tip
Garnishes make all the difference in terms of presentation. A tiny snip of rosemary or parsley takes this rustic soup from looking kind of blah to gorgeous in a second.
More great soups for October:
Black Bean and Butternut Squash Enchilada Soup from Marshalls Abroad (Amanda created this soup inspired by one of my recipes - how cool is that!?)
Hamburger Soup from ValSoCal
Roasted Tomato and Rosemary Soup with Kale and Potatoes from Food52
Apple Parsnip Soup from Foodess
Smokey Corn Chowder with Shrimp from BevCooks
Loaded Potato Soup from Cooking Light