I don’t mind that I’m posting a little later than usual, today. I have Old Man Winter to thank.
This is a Pasta e Fagioli kinda day if ever there was one.
Dom and I returned home from Lake Placid a little later than planned last night. The -24 degree temperature decided that our vehicle needed to stay put until things warmed up a bit. We learned the hard way that cars that run on diesel fuel don’t always get along with frigid temperatures. So with that, the car sat outside eagerly awaiting the temperature to rise, while we sat cozily inside, munching on Valentine’s chocolate, watching Dolce play, feeling perfectly content in the waiting place.
We finally took off and traveled down roads that were clear of snow, making our trek home far less stressful than our trek there. We got to enjoy a few TED talks and the musical-stylings of the singer-songwriters I have stored in my Spotify. It was lovely.
I woke early this morning with the intention of writing, but OMW (Old Man Winter) had another plan. With the views out my kitchen window revealing icicles formed to look like rickrack and fringe hanging from the fence surrounding our hibernating pool – it was no surprise when the power went out.
I was thinking – okay, that’s the way you want to play OMW? No worries. I can play.
I turned off the water and stopped filling the pot that I was readying for my morning coffee and just stared out the window panes above the sink as the world elicited a perfect hush.
When the power goes down, it feels like the entire world conspires to make us stop. Just stop. And listen. It’s a beautiful thing, even a necessary thing, every once in a while, to stop. Take a breath. Admire the icicles and listen to the silence. It’s a very pretty song.
This pasta e fagioli is very pretty, too.
I think that’s why I’m sharing photos of all its components. I couldn’t decide what to cut, so I decided to cut nothing. I don’t know how coaches do it – I’d have the biggest teams in history.
Pasta e fagioli AKA pasta and beans – probably has as many variations as there are beans in this bowl – but at the end of the day it’s a humble, rustic peasant dish that’s all about a few components that are infused with deep rich flavors like garlic, olive oil, tomatoes and cheese.
I went the navy bean route, though you could use any bean or combination of beans that are to your liking. I added a marinara made with flavor-packed Muir Glen whole peeled tomatoes that’s been spiced with a little red pepper, kosher salt and cracked black pepper. I used ditalini, tiny tube-shaped pasta, and my favorite Pecorino-Romano to finish it off.
Nope, I don’t mind at all that the car didn’t start or my morning coffee was delayed…
This is winter.
It’s all good.
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Pasta e Fagioli
- Category: Dinner
Ingredients
- Beans
- 1 pound white navy beans
- 3 quarts canned chicken broth
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 4 large garlic cloves, crushed
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Marinara
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 – 2 tsp. red pepper flakes
- 3 Tbsp. olive oil
- 2 – 14.5 oz. cans Muir Glen whole peeled tomatoes
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Pasta
- 1 pound ditalini
- Salt (for water)
Instructions
- Wash the beans thoroughly and discard any imperfect ones.
- Put the chicken broth in a large pot. Add the beans, garlic, oil, salt and pepper.
- Simmer until beans are tender, 1 1/2 – 2 hours.
- In the meantime prepare marinara.
- In a small heavy skillet over medium-low heat, slowly sauté the garlic and seasonings in the olive oil.
- Add the tomatoes, a little more red pepper and the salt and pepper.
- Simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes or so on low heat.
- Lastly, in a large pot of salted boiling water, cook the pasta to very al dente, 8 minutes.
- Reserving 2 cups of liquid, drain the pasta in a colander.
- When the beans are tender, add the drained pasta and the marinara to the pot.
- If more broth is desired, add the pasta liquid, a little as you go, until you reach a desired consistency.
- Simmer for 10 – 15 minutes.
- Ladle into large soup dishes and sprinkle with freshly grated Romano (or Parmesan) cheese and a pinch more of your spices.
- Serve immediately.
CIAO!
Clap Clap Clap! It really looks Italian!
Well done 😀
Why thank you so much!! 🙂
While we don’t get snow out here in San Diego it is actually raining right now this morning so I can claim some sort of seasonal weather! I’m glad you included all your photos, they are beautiful. My favorite being the peppercorn close up.
This sounds wonderful right now. Hearty and filling. Thanks!
This is the kind of food I just like to have around! Thanks for your kind words, my dear! 🙂
Your photos are amazing. It would have been a shame to deprive us of all of that. I love this dish. I have a great memory of my dad, who loved this, always making his short-cut version of pasta e fagioli when my mother wasn’t around. He would make the ditalini and combine it with a can of baked beans that he doctored up. Funny guy!!!
Well, that sounds fabulous! Nothing like a good can of baked beans, anytime! Did you guys ever cut up hot dogs and add them to the beans? I used to love that, too! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by with a kind word, my friend!
I love how beautiful this soup is. Sounds like a perfect day for a pot of soup….once the power came back on. I love the peacefulness of power outages….for about 1/2 day. Since we are on a well, our water pump stops working. No water makes life difficult!
Oh boy, that would make life difficult, but there is something so peaceful about a power outage, providing it’s brief. Thank you so much my friend…how great would this be with your no knead artisan bread! 🙂
This is definitely what winter is all about in Upstate New York. Hot soup, garlic, tomatoes. Yeah. I’m craving this just from reading about it. Plus, my house is freezing cold. Gotta have soup. Cheers!
Hi Robin! I imagine this is a popular soup in these parts these days! Thanks for stopping by with a kind word, my friend!
Since moving to New Hampshire from Florida, I do (at times) enjoy the slow and sometimes sudden stop of life during the Winter months. Having said that, I greatly dislike cold and snow and am very happy that the temps are now back up around 50 (cause last weekend was COLD AS HECK!!). I won’t say whether or not I broke down crying because it was so bitter cold..okay I did…but I do that every Winter (feel sorry for my Hubby and be glad you don’t have to live with me) 🙂 Soups like pasta e fagioli are perfect chilly weather eats and yours is one I could partake in weekly. Too much yum in one bowl 😉
Awwww! I can imagine after living in Florida that all this cold is difficult, but don’t you just love the change of seasons? I know I would miss that! I wish I knew you were crying – I would have rushed over with a big pot just for you! No, actually I’d make you share with your hubby since he clearly earns it on snowy days! 😉 Stay warm, sweets! 🙂
I’m so glad we haven’t had much in the way of negative temperatures this year, more snow than cold I guess. I can’t think of a better dish to curl up with on a snowy evening than classic Italian peasant food!
We’re getting the snow now, too. I couldn’t agree more – this is a perfect dish for a snowy evening! Thanks, friend!