Tasty Tuesday-Pasta Fagioli

So I have been hooked on the Pasta Fagioli  soup from Olive Garden ever since my friend 

Amy introduced me to it while our guys were deployed. Seriously I love it so much I ordered just soup and salad last time we ate there, NO pasta! This soup reminds me of a really well seasoned minestrone but with so much more. Needless to say I was hesitant to try and replicate it at home because I figured no copy cat would live up to the original. I did gather up my courage though and after hours of browsing through tons of similar recipes I found one that sounded close to the real thing and gave it a whirl. I figured my days of soup like weather were dwindling and I didn't want to wait to next year to try it out. And what do you know...it was good! Really good, not exactly the same, but close enough that it curbed the craving. So here I am sharing my copycat recipe of Olive Garden's Pasta Fagioli containing the modifications I made to it. Don't be intimidated by the list of ingredients it is lengthy but not hard.

Olive Garden Pasta E Fagioli Soup

Here's what you will need: 

1 pound ground beef ( I used Italian sausage, and I think it made ALL the difference)
1 small onion, diced (1 cup)
1 large carrot, julienned (1 cup)
3 stalks celery, chopped (1 cup) finely!
2 cloves garlic, minced ( I used a tad bit more but I have a garlic addiction)
2 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes ( I only used 1 because I don't like chunks!)
1 15-ounce can red kidney beans (with liquid)
1 15-ounce can great northern beans (with liquid)
1 15-ounce can tomato sauce ( I actually ended up using 3 cans! It just looked to think for my taste)
1 12-ounce can V-8 juice ( Don't substitute!)
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon oregano ( I increased all the following spices by at least double)

1 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 pound (1/2 pkg.) ditali pasta ( I will decrease this next time by at least a third if not half)

1. Brown the ground beef in a large saucepan or pot over medium heat.
Drain off most of the fat. ( I did not find it necessary to drain any fat, I needed it to saute the veggies)

2. Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic and sauté for 10 minutes.

3. Add remaining ingredients, except pasta, and simmer for 1 hour. ( this is vital, the longer you simmer the better the spices come out!)

4. About 50 minutes into simmer time, cook the pasta in 1 1/2 to 2
quarts of boiling water over high heat. Cook for 10 minutes or just
until pasta is al dente, or slightly tough. Drain.

5. Add the pasta to the large pot of soup. Simmer for 5-10 minutes
and serve.

Serves 8.

I topped ours with fresh grated parmesan cheese and served with garlic breadsticks. SO authentic;) Enjoy!