A lighter, healthier Italian soup -- that's amore!

It's Saturday and I'm visiting a small Italian food store that is actually a retail outlet for a company that sells wholesale imported food products to restaurants.

Titina, looking like a classic Italian nonna, and her husband, Costanzo, (originally from Capri, a small but historic island off Italy's western coast) own both businesses.

On Saturdays, Titina shares Italian dishes and recipes with shoppers (many of the ingredients are available in her store, of course). On this particular Saturday, Titina was handing out samples of her take on a wonderful Italian stew-like soup, pasta e fagioli, aka pasta fazool.

However you say it, the soup commonly includes olive oil, pancetta (Italian pork belly akin to bacon), carrots, celery, garlic, tomatoes, macaroni-like pasta, cannellini beans (white kidney beans) and real parmesan cheese.

Titina handed me some and I savored its mellow flavors and enjoyed the contrast between the al dente pasta and the soft beans. As Rachael Ray says, "Yum-o."

Titina slipped me her recipe card, and I shopped for some ingredients. I wasn't sure how pork belly fit into my lean food plan, but for authenticity I believed I could make it work.

Before making up a batch, I did a little book and Web research and found that, similar to American chili, there are many versions of this classic Italian soup.

Titina's recipe begins by sautéing 4 ounces of pancetta in 2 tablespoons olive oil; an aromatic and flavorful, albeit high fat, combination. A nonstick saucepan, a stingy teaspoon of olive oil and, tightly trimmed pancetta, cut significant fat and calories, while leaving abundant flavor.

Next, I measured out just 2 teaspoons oil from the saucepan (discarding the rest in a can next to my stove, not down the drain) and quickly sautéed the carrots, celery and garlic.

At this point, Titina adds canned cherry tomatoes. Although I could have purchased some at her store, I didn't. I prefer making and sharing recipes everyone can easily do, and most supermarkets don't carry canned cherry tomatoes (although you could use eight to 10 ounces fresh cherry tomatoes, halved). I substituted canned diced tomatoes, reduced the heat and simmered it for 15 minutes.

Titina adds water (to make up for flavor loss due to calorie-cutting, I went with fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth), canned cannellini beans and pasta and simmers everything for 10 minutes; essentially cooking the pasta. However, since all canned beans have already been cooked, I waited until my pasta was just about done to add the beans, avoiding over-softening them.

Before serving, Titina seasons her soup with salt (if needed) and cayenne pepper (adding a final flavor note and a touch of heat). I ladled my soup into bowls, and as Titina suggests, topped each with grated parmesan direct from the source. My soup looked almost as good as Titina's and actually tasted a little better. The flavor came together perfectly, but my version had fewer calories and less fat. Bravissimo!

Titina's Pasta e Fagioli

1 teaspoon olive oil

4 ounces pancetta (trimmed of as much fat as possible), chopped (see note)

1 medium carrot, diced

2 celery stalks, diced

1 large garlic clove, peeled and minced (or pressed through a garlic press)

1 can (14.5 ounces) petite-cut diced tomatoes, see note

2 cans (15-19 ounce each) cannellini beans, drained

2 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth or water

4 ounces (about 1 cup) dry ditali pasta or macaroni

½ cup grated parmesan cheese (Parmigiano-Reggiano, preferred)

Salt

Cayenne pepper

Place a 3 to 4-quart saucepan over medium heat and add the olive oil. When hot, add pancetta and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until golden. Using a slotted spoon, remove pancetta and place on paper towels to drain.

Measure 2 teaspoons of oil from the saucepan; discard remaining oil. Return reserved oil to saucepan and, over medium heat, sauté carrots and celery for 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds, or until aromatic. Add tomatoes and their juice, stirring to combine. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Raise heat to medium-high, add broth, cooked pancetta and pasta to the pan and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to a simmers and cook 7-10 minutes, or until pasta is al dente (just cooked).

Stir in beans and when broth returns to a simmer remove from the stove. Season with salt and cayenne pepper to taste. Pour among four bowl; top each with 2 tablespoons cheese. Serve immediately.

Serves four.

Cook's notes: 4 slices of regular bacon may be substituted for the pancetta; trim visible fat before sautéing. Canned, regular diced tomatoes, cut into smaller pieces may be used.

Nutrition values per serving: 459 calories(16.9 percent from fat), 8.6 g fat (3.6 g saturated), 70.7 g carbohydrate, 15.6 g fiber, 27.5 g protein, 12 mg cholesterol, 1,184 mg sodium.

SaltSense: 35 percent of this soup's sodium comes from the beans, by rinsing the beans well before adding, you can significantly reduce their sodium contribution. Using no-salt-added tomatoes and omitting the cheese reduces the sodium per serving to 743 milligrams.