Pasta Fasoule

Pasta e Fagioli, or Pasta Fasoule in dialect or Pasta Fazool in Americanized Italian, all simply mean "pasta and beans", a humble but delicious peasant dish served in all parts of Italy. There are as many variations as there are Italian grandmothers. Some versions are soupy and some are relatively dry. The key ingredients, of course are beans and some type of pasta, typically small tube shapes that can trap and hold the beans and sauce well. The rest of the dish is where the flavor is built. It can be red with tomatoes or white without them. Other ingredients used in balance include onions, garlic, herbs, some kind of cured meat like pancetta or sausage and stock (chicken, veal or vegetable). Then served topped with grated hard cheese.

                                                                                                                           

This has become my favorite method. It may sound complicated, but it really isn’t – and it is worth the effort.

Ingredients -

Extra Virgin olive oil

Pancetta  - diced  -  use 2 pieces about ¼ inch thick  each

5 cloves of garlic  - minced

1 medium sweet onion  - chopped into small pieces

1 15 oz can crushed tomatoes
2 tbsp chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

1 tbsp fresh rosemary 

1/2 - 1 tsp oregano dried 

1 handful fresh basil torn or a spoonful of pesto - don't even think of using dry basil

1 tsp +/- hot red pepper flakes

abt 4 cups of chicken or vegetable stock

4 cans Cannellini beans

1 box Mezzi Rigatoni  - (short rigatoni) 

Pecorino cheese - to taste

I prefer a larger tube pasta like mezzi rigatoni rather than small ditalini. The mezzi rigatoni holds the sauce and stray beans inside much better.

Put about 1/3 cup of olive oil in a large cooking pot or Dutch oven and heat on medium

Add 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes - more or less to your taste

Add the pancetta: Cook in the oil until it starts to render, about 3 minutes.

Add the garlic and cook about 3 minutes

Add the onion and cook for about 5  minutes

Add rosemary and oregano 

Add the crushed tomatoes and a little chicken stock

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Drain and rinse the beans in a colander. Remove about half of them and add to the pot with the sauce.Turn the heat down and let all that simmer for about 15 minutes. With an immersion blender, puree the sauce.

Add the other half of the beans that were left whole along with 1 cup of chicken stock and stir together adding more chicken stock if it gets too thick. Simmer for another 15 minutes.

Add a handful of torn fresh basil.

Meanwhile, in rapidly boiling salted water cook the pasta al dente. Don’t cook the pasta in with the beans. When done, put some in each soup bowl and ladle over with the bean sauce – this way the rigatoni doesn’t get mushy by sitting in the sauce too long and is still firm for leftovers.

Drizzle with a little good extra virgin olive oil, some fresh chopped flat leaf parsley and grated cheese.