Tuscan Bean Soup

Ingredients

500 gr kidney beans
4 packages cannellini beans
6 pancetta
60 ml olive oil
120 gr onion
100 gr celery
2 gr sage
1 gr sage
6 gr salt
3 gr pepper
1,400 ml chicken stock
210 gr ditalini
3 gr parsley

Instructions

Freshly grated Romano cheese -=OR=Parmigiano cheese IF USING DRIED BEANS, soak overnight in 5 cups of water. Drain beans and place in a large pot. Add 10 cups cold water, cover and bring to a boil. Simmer beans and cook until tender, about 1 hour. In an 8 litre pot, saute the pancetta in olive oil until soft. Add onion and celery and saute, stirring, about 5 minutes. Add sage, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper. Add chicken stock, cover and bring to a boil. Drain the beans, add to soup, cover and simmer 30 minutes. Cook pasta in 4 litre boiling water with 1 teaspoon salt until al dente. Drain and add to soup. Stir in minced parsley before serving and sprinkle with grated cheese.