Pasta e Fagioli

Wednesdays are pretty hectic for me, and I had to do some grocery shopping to compliment my upcoming Italian-themed Easter menu. I still need to go back to the store, at least twice. I was looking for some Italian items that our store didn't have, and in the midst of my grocery store wandering, I decided to make pasta e fagioli for dinner tonight. I had never made it before but it is a quick, meatless meal if you are looking for one. It is the perfect pantry meal and I'm out of homemade vegetable broth, plus the canned tomatoes are too precious. However, the carrots from my CSA are in this dish!

Ingredients:
1 medium carrot  finely chopped
1 rib celery finely chopped
1 small-medium sweet onion, finely chopped
2 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1c datalini
2 bay leaves
2-3 sprigs fresh herbs (I used rosemary and thyme but I bet basil and oregano would be good, too)
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 quart broth (I used Pacific Vegetable, feel free to use anything you like)
1 16 oz. can tomato sauce (you could use cooked down canned tomatoes, run through a food mill)
2-3 pieces of Parmesan rind
salt
pepper
olive oil

In a pot, heat olive oil, add carrots, celery and onion, cooking on medium until onion is translucent stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper. Add garlic and cook for about a minute. Add broth, tomato sauce, herbs and Parmesan rind, bringing to a boil for about 4-5 minutes. Add datalini. Reduce heat when datalini is about half way to al dente and add beans and bring to a boil again, stirring frequently, about 2 minutes. You can use water to thin it, but I purposely wanted mine thick. Shut off burner, adjust seasonings and allow to cool. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.

Personally, I could have done without the carrot, or  used grated carrot and maybe added in a 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan at the end.