Thursday, October 30, 2008

Nothing like a warm bowl of Pasta E Fagioli

It was nice today, still cool but it is October after all so I can’t complain too much (even though I still do, lol) it wasn’t raining and it wasn’t near freezing like it’s been the past 2 days but I’ve been thinking about Pasta E Fagioli all week and the only thing I didn’t have was a can of beans.. But I got that taken care of on my way home tonight (yay)

Pasta E Fagioli (pronounced like Pasta Fazool) is one of my favorite dishes, it’s quick, hearty and can be served as a main dish or a side.. Tonight it was the main event with some fresh baked bread.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil
1 diced onion
1/3 cup diced Prosciutto or you can use Italian sausage, removed from it’s casing and crumbled
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 15-ounce cans Great Northern or Cannellini beans with their liquid
4 cups chicken broth
Salt & Pepper to taste
2 cups canned plum tomatoes, well drained and chopped
1 pound Ditalini or other small macaroni, cooked
1/4 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese (Optional)

Directions:
1. Combine oil, onion, prosciutto(Or Sausage, that’s what I use most often), and garlic in a large saucepan over medium heat. Sauté for about 5 minutes or until onions are translucent and begin to turn golden. Be careful not to burn the garlic.
2. Stir in beans and their liquid, add broth and salt & pepper and bring to a boil. Add tomatoes and return to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes
3. Stir in cooked pasta and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

Serve hot, sprinkled with Pecorino Romano cheese, if desired.

This is something that my grandma made when I was a kid and I would sit there with the cheese and black pepper and ‘fix it up’ the way I liked it and would sit there with the bread sopping up every last bit.

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