Pumpkin and Fregola Soup with Borlotti Beans and Pancetta

Here is a different take on classic pasta e fagioli, or pasta and bean soup. The pasta here is fregola, a rustic shape from Sardinia that calls to mind couscous. It is made by mixing durum wheat (semolina) flour with water and working the mixture with your fingers to eventually produce small, grain-like pieces. The rough pearls of pasta, which can vary …