Thunder and Lightning Soup
5 servings
60 minutes
There aren't many soups in Italian cuisine, and those that do exist usually compete with pasta for the right to be the first dish on the table, and most often lose to pasta. "Thunder and Lightning" is one of those soups that Italians themselves love , it contains both beans and pasta, so there's nothing to compete for. Don't get the wrong idea, the name doesn't come from the consequences that legumes can cause in the stomach. On the contrary, it's a very nutritious and almost lulling dish. There is a version that the recipe has Jewish roots, but the Italians have long appropriated it and made it their own to such an extent that "Thunder and Lightning" is packed in tin cans and sold to go, just like Cambell's in America.


1
Pour flour into the mixer bowl, add an egg and knead the dough. It should be strong but pliable.
- Premium wheat flour: 100 g
- Chicken egg: 1 piece

2
Gather the dough into a ball, wrap it in plastic, and let it rest for 30 minutes.

3
Roll out the dough on a floured surface as thin as possible (ideally, use a pasta machine). Cut into uneven small triangles — this type of pasta is called maltagliati. Cover with plastic wrap to prevent the pasta from drying out.
- Premium wheat flour: 100 g

4
Finely chop the onion. Heat 50 ml of olive oil in a pan and sauté the onion with a sprig of rosemary until golden.
- Onion: 1 head
- Olive oil: 150 ml
- Rosemary: 2 sprigs

5
Add the beans, lightly salt, and simmer everything together for 2 minutes.
- Canned white beans: 400 g
- Salt: 1 teaspoon

6
Transfer the beans to a saucepan, pour in the broth, bring to a boil and cook the soup for 15-20 minutes.
- Canned white beans: 400 g
- Chicken broth: 1 l

7
Heat the remaining oil in a pan and fry half of the pasta on both sides. When it becomes golden and crispy like chips, transfer it from the pan to a paper towel and sprinkle with a little salt.
- Olive oil: 150 ml
- Premium wheat flour: 100 g
- Salt: 1 teaspoon

8
Remove about a third of the beans from the soup with a slotted spoon (if some onion comes out, it's okay) and blend into a paste.
- Canned white beans: 400 g

9
Add the remaining raw pasta to the soup and cook for 3 minutes after boiling.
- Premium wheat flour: 100 g

10
Add the bean paste and stir the soup thoroughly.
- Canned white beans: 400 g

11
Remove the sprig of rosemary from the soup, pour it into warmed bowls, and sprinkle with fried pasta.
- Rosemary: 2 sprigs









