Pasta and Bean Soup

There are many variations of pasta and bean soups that can be found in Italy but my favorite is the one made in the Emilia-romagna region. The best bean to use is the cranberry bean which is available fresh in the spring and summer and which freezes quite well in tightly sealed freezer bags. Dried cranberry beans also work quite well provided they are soaked in water overnight or you can use canned cranberry or even red kidney beans. The recipe that follows is the classic method of preparin