-Olive Oil -Onion -Carrots -Celery -Garlic -Red Pepper Flakes -Dried Oregano -Salt
-Pepper -Cannellini Beans -Crushed Tomatoes -Vegetable Broth -Ditalini -Parmesan Cheese -Italian Parsley
Slice bacon into smaller pieces and place in a large pot or Dutch oven along with olive oil. Fry the bacon on medium heat until it is brown and crispy (around 10 minutes). While the bacon is frying, finely dice onion, carrots, and celery stalks; and mince garlic.
Remove half of the cooked bacon from the pot with a slotted spoon. Leave behind the rest of the meat and any extra fat in the pot. Add the diced onions, carrots, celery, minced garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes, and a pinch of salt and pepper to the pot. Sauté the vegetables on medium-high heat until they are softened.
Add white beans (drained and rinsed), crushed tomatoes (with juices), water, and vegetable broth to the pot. Stir everything to combine, increasing the heat (if needed) to bring the soup up to a boil.
Once boiling, let the soup cook for another 5 minutes until the vegetables have softened and the broth has cooked enough to lose the “canned” taste from the tomatoes.
Add small-shaped pasta (ditalini) to the soup and cook, uncovered, according to the package directions (approx. 7 minutes), stirring frequently to prevent the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the grated parmesan cheese and chopped parsley. If the broth has reduced too much (the pasta will absorb a lot of the flavorful broth as it cooks), add water, taste it, and adjust the seasonings again if needed.