1 pound lean ground beef
1 tablespoon Two Rivers olive oil (you can always try the spicy oils as well as garlic or whichever you feel balances this dish.)
1 carrot, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 thin slice onion, diced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 (32 ounce) bottle tomato-vegetable juice cocktail (such as V8®)
1 (14 ounce) can chicken broth
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 ½ cups ditalini pasta
1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
Step 1
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir beef in the hot skillet until browned and crumbly, 5 to 7 minutes; drain and discard grease.
Step 2
Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat; saute carrot, celery, and onion until softened, 5 to 10 minutes. Add garlic and saute until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir vegetable juice cocktail, chicken broth, parsley, basil, oregano, and black pepper into vegetable mixture; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer soup for 20 minutes.
Step 3
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook ditalini pasta in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until cooked through but firm to the bite, 8 minutes. Drain.
Step 4
Stir cannellini beans and ground beef into soup; cook and stir until soup is heated through, about 10 minutes.
Step 5
Spoon about 1/3 cup pasta into each serving bowl; ladle soup over pasta.
Keep pasta separate from soup for leftovers and combine when reheating.