Pasta e fagioli with seafood

Rinse the dry cannellini beans well and pick through them; do not soak.

Add to a dutch oven of hot water at a little simmer. Dry beans take about 3 hours; hold the aromatics back so they keep their flavour.

Simmer the beans on their own very gently about an hour and a half, until about halfway cooked.

Add a clove of garlic, two stalks of finely chopped celery, three quarters of a diced tomato, a couple of basil leaves and a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Simmer partially covered another hour or so, until the beans are very tender.

Remove the garlic clove. Add the mixed pasta and season heavily with salt; cook until thick and creamy, not watery.

In a skillet put two small crushed garlic cloves and a little hot pepper flake; when the garlic sizzles and is fragrant add parsley and the leftover diced tomato.

Add the seafood and cook a couple of minutes until the mussels open; take off the heat and let it finish cooking a couple of minutes in the pan, releasing its liquid.

Take out the mussels; keep a few in the shell for the top and shell the rest. Discard any that did not open.

Add the seafood and its juices to the soup and cook together the last two minutes or so, until the pasta is fully cooked.

Finish with a little basil and parsley. Plate with freshly ground black pepper, mussels on top and a final drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.