Recipes out of the Blond Box

Ditalini is one of those “spoon pastas” as I call them, and is shaped in quarter-inch long cylinders.

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups (approximately ½ pound) cubed, cooked ham
½ cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
6 cups water
3 ½ cups (28 ounce can) tomato sauce
3 cups (2 15-ounce cans) great northern beans, undrained
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 ¾ cups uncooked ditalini pasta

In a 5-quart saucepan, heat oil and sauté ham, onion and garlic until onion is tender, but not brown. Stir in water, tomato sauce, beans, parsley, and black pepper; heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, 10 min., to blend the flavors. Return soup to a boil. Add ditalini and boil, stirring occasionally, 10 min. or until ditalini is tender.