• Chop the heads of escarole into 2 inch ribbons. Put them in a large bowl of water, swish and rinse the leaves and drain thoroughly . You may need to repeat this step several times before the leaves are completely clean. I like to use a salad spinner to drain excess water and make sure there is no sand or dirt in the water. If there is, rinse it and spin it dry again. If you don't have a salad spinner, pat dry with paper towels.
• Peel and chop garlic fine.
  
• In a large heavy bottomed pot, saute garlic in 2 Tbsp olive oil for about 30 seconds, until fragrant. Don't let it brown.
  
• Add chicken broth, crushed tomatoes, beans, ground pepper and red pepper flakes (if using). Let the soup come to a boil.
  
• In a separate large pot, boil water for pasta.
• To the soup pot, add escarole in batches (unless you have a giant pot).
  
• Reduce heat to simmer.
• Simmer for about 15 minutes.
  
• Taste for seasoning. If necessary, add salt or more pepper.
• While soup is simmering, cook pasta according to package directions.

To Serve:

• Scoop some pasta in a soup bowl, ladle in the soup. Top with parmesan cheese if desired.
  

**Notes:

• 1. If you can't get a hold of pink beans, you can use kidney beans.
• 2. If you have leftover soup, store the pasta separately from the soup to prevent it from getting mushy.