Last night, after many Thanksgiving leftovers, and feeling a need for some comfort food, I decided what we all needed was a pot of pasta e fagioli and loaf of garlic herb bread (in the bread machine, so that part was easy). Pasta e fagioli (or, yes, pastafazoo, or pastafazool, as some might say here in the U.S.) is fairly simple, too. the words simply mean "pasta and beans," and that makes it, in my opinion, the ultimate comfort food. It's made in basically the same way, as far as I can tell, with slight variations, but it seems like everyone has opinions about what's right and what's wrong. I won't claim my version is "authentic." Am I Italian? Well, sure. I mean, my mom's a Gambino ~ the family on her father's side came from Fontanarosa, in Campagnia. So, I'm Italian-American (and Irish-American, and English, etc...) This recipe? Eh...I've picked up bits of it here and there. It's probably not exactly the way my mom makes it. It's not exactly like what I've had elsewhere. I've learned some things about how pasta e fagioli is made, and I've taken what I like, and worked out what we like best. This is a variation we like. Read it through, give it a shot, and see what you think.
Pasta e fagioli
Warm soup pot over med-low heat for a couple of minutes.
Add 1-2 TBS. olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan, reduce heat to low, and warm for another minute or two.
Add : 2 stalks celery, diced
2 medium carrots, diced
3-5 cloves garlic, minced
Cook, stirring often, for just 5-6 minutes. Try not to let the garlic brown.
Add ½ lb cannelini (white kidney beans), well rinsed and sorted. 8 cups water or broth
Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes, then turn off and cover for 1 hour*
Turn on heat again, bring to a boil, and add: 1 14-15 oz can diced tomatoes (or you can use fresh tomatoes here, but peel, core & seed them).
Add your herbs ~ I usually add about: ½- 1 tsp total of dried oregano, thyme and/or rosemary (not each, total).
I do this by feel, so the measurement is kind of a guess. You can always add a little more at the end, when you taste it.
Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, covered, stirring often ~ you might have to reduce heat to low, depending on your stove. You want to cook gently, so your beans don’t break up too much ~ until beans are almost done. If it starts to get too thick at this point, you can add a little more water, but it shouldn’t be too watery at the end (mine was a little bit in the picture here). You want enough water to cook your pasta, but, by the very end, you want it to have thickened up a bit.
When the beans are almost done (this should take 1-1.5 hours), add your pasta. I usually add about: 4-6 big handfuls of small pasta ~ ditalini is traditional, but small seashells or elbows are good, too, and I will often use whatever we have on hand.
Bring back up to a boil, stir, and reduce to a low boil. Cook, stirring often, until pasta is just al dente.
At the very end, stir in as much chopped, fresh escarole (or other dark green ~ chard, kale, or spinach all work well, too) as you like. Add salt and black pepper to taste. Taste, and adjust seasonings.
Serve with Romano or Parmesan (or other good, grated cheese), and crushed red pepper for topping, and good, crusty bread.
*This is the “quick soak method for preparing beans. Alternately, if you are better at planning ahead than I am, you can soak your beans over night in cold water in a pan on your counter (or for at least 5-6 hours during the day, I hear). When you are ready to cook, drain, replace the soaking water w/ fresh water, and proceed as above.
This is often made w/ pancetta diced & cooked w/ the garlic, but, since we are vegetarian, I don’t use it. I don’t remember having it with meat growing up, either. Some people skip the greens ~ and the carrot & celery ~ altogether. I like them. It’s up to you to decide how you like it best. (If mine comes out a bit thin, I like to break up my bread into little bits and stir it in, or, put it in my bowl first, and pour my pasta e fagioli on top ~ problem solved.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)