The Pasta-and-Beans Equation

Welcome to Best Food Blog, a writer-run publication about eating by journalists Ali Francis, Anikah Shaokat, Anna Hezel, and Antara Sinha. You can check out everything we’ve published so far here. Today, we’re sharing what we’ve been cooking lately, with a special guest appearance from Rebecca Firkser, author of Nickel & Dine, a newsletter for budget-based recipes that are flavorful and exciting — not just cheap. Pre-order her upcoming cookbook, Galette!.

This week (month, really), practically everything I've cooked is soup-adjacent. All I want to do when I get in from Brooklyn’s frigid wind is steam my face over a bowl of something hot and brothy. And I obviously refuse to go back outside to the store, so we have to make it work with whatever's already in the kitchen. 

Last week's winner involved rotisserie chicken and spicy pickled peppers. The next highlight: soupy tiny pasta and beans. Here's how: Saute a chopped onion in olive oil with a few shakes of really nice dried oregano and chile flake. Add a glob of Better Than Bouillon (devastatingly was out of tomato paste, that would've been good too), then fill the pot with water and bring it to a boil. Stir in a cup of tiny pasta, a can of white beans, and a few big pinches of salt. Stir while that comes back up to a boil.