Homemade Pasta Fagioli

This homemade pasta fagioli dish is a traditional Italian soup where the recipe differs from family to family and region to region. Every single version is different which makes it nice because it’s very personal that way. It’s what ever you were used to having in your own home or at your relatives growing up. Originally, pasta fagioli was made without meat, then there were versions that started the dish off by sauteing pancetta and now there are so many different recipes floating around. It’s what ever floats your boat really! It’s supposed to be easy gourmet…what ever you have in the pantry and refrigerator will work.

Pasta fagioli is a savory comfort food that I just love. It consist of several universal ingredients like ditalini pasta,  cannellini beans, some kind of tomato base and a liquid of either chicken, or vegetable and I have even seen water used. It’s been considered a soup which is perfect for dunking that crusty bread but there are versions that make it more like a thick saucy “pasta” dish. The liquids do evaporate quickly after the pasta is added to the pot and cooked through so you have to be careful at this point to keep an eye on that if you want it to have a looser soup-like consistency.

The pronunciation of the word has evolved to “pasta fazool”. Then again, there are many variations of that as well 🙂 So enjoy this Italian soup…I know you will love it. If you need an appetizer to go with this gourmet homemade pasta fagioli you may want to check out my sea scallops wrapped in bacon, scallop cerviche, or even a refreshing fennel and citrus salad with tangerine dressing. And how about some Pavlova with fresh pineapple and berries for dessert!

INGREDIENTS For Pasta Fagioli (makes enough for many…10-15 side dishes):

• 2 cans cannellini beans
• 1/2 -3/4 cup ditalini pasta ( 1/2 if you want it looser soup-like consistencey …remember it just keeps getting thicker even after you take it off the stove as the liquid evaporates)
• 1 qt. (4 cups) chicken stock
• 1 cup white wine-pinot grigio or what ever you are drinking -(1/2 to deglaze pancetta and veggies and 1/2 when you add stock
• 1/3 cup each diced carrots, celery and onion
• 3 tbsp finely chopped garlic
• 2 cups whole peeled tomatoes with some juice, broken up with your hands – NOTE: USE 3 cups if you are not using a cup of “leftover pork & sauce”
• 1 cup pork in tomato sauce OR 1 lb. sausage taken out of the casing ready to sauté OR omit all together
• 2 1/4″ sliced of pancetta diced up or bacon
• 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary and 2 of fresh thyme tied in up with string
• Fresh basil -julienne to add at the end
• grated Reggiano Parmigiano and some to shave for decoration
• good olive oil to drizzle at the end
• 1/2 tsp salt -add 1/4 tsp at the addition of sauteing veggies and 1/4 tsp when you add beans and broth
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes if you like a pinch of HEAT

DIRECTIONS:

1. Add diced pancetta to a large pan and begin to sauté for 8 minutes on med heat
2. Add in broken up sausage to brown with the pancetta If you do not have “pork in sauce”
3. On med/low heat add diced carrots, onion, celery and garlic with 1/4 tsp salt (along with 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes if you want a little heat) to the same pot with 1 tbsp olive oil extra – sauté til veggies are tender 10 minutes
4. De-glaze with 1/2 cup white wine and simmer 5 minutes
5. Add in beans, pork-sauce, whole peeled tomatoes, herb bouquet, chicken stock, 1/4 salt, 1/4 pepper and simmer for 30 minutes
6. Remove herb bouquet from soup
7. Take 4-5 ladles of beans out of the soup to puree for a little creamier then adding back in
8. Simmer 5 minutes and add in 1/2 cup ditalini pasta
9. Cook til pasta is cooked – approx 7 minutes
10. Plate up and drizzle olive oil, sprinkle parmigiano cheese and fresh basil and mangia mangia!