When you consider the quintessential ingredients of Italian cuisine, your mind likely dreams up visions of dried pasta, tomatoes, and an assortment of fresh cheeses. But one ingredient that shouldn’t be overlooked is fagioli, which translates to “beans” in English. Legumes, in their many varieties, have been a monument in Italian cooking for centuries, but perhaps no dish highlights their flavor better than the humble pasta e fagioli. Although it’s known as a simple dish, pasta e fagioli is anything but. A blend of pasta cooked in a pot of chicken broth, plum tomatoes, cannellini beans, and seasonings, the soup has a depth of flavor that Italians and Italian-Americans have cherished for thousands of years. Like any dish that’s been around for that long, pasta e fagioli has a few different variations. The dish changes depending on which region of Italy you’re looking at. In the north, you may see it made with a …