Pasta e Fagioli
- Total Time
- 1 hour 20 minutes, including 30 minutes unsupervised simmering
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1recipe Simmered Pintos using only ½ pound (about 1⅛ cups) beans
- 1tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1medium or large onion, chopped
- 1½teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
- 2large garlic cloves, minced
- 128-ounce can chopped tomatoes with juice
- Pinch of sugar
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1tablespoon tomato paste
- 1small dried red pepper, or ¼ to ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
- A bouquet garni made with a bay leaf, 1 or 2 Parmesan rinds, and a few sprigs of thyme and parsley
- 6ounces elbow macaroni or small shells (1 cup)
- 2 to 3tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 2ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (½ cup), optional
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
144 calories; 5 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 17 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 8 grams protein; 352 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Make the simmered beans as directed, changing only the amount of beans (use 2 quarts water). Remove onion and bay leaf, using tongs or a slotted spoon, as directed. Place a strainer over a bowl and drain beans. Measure broth and top up with enough water to make 6 cups.
- Step 2
Heat oil over medium heat in a large, heavy casserole or Dutch oven and add chopped onion. Cook, stirring, until just tender, about 5 minutes. Add rosemary and garlic and stir together for another minute, until garlic is fragrant. Stir in tomatoes, add sugar, salt and pepper, and cook, stirring often, until tomatoes have cooked down and the mixture is very fragrant, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Step 3
Add broth from the beans, tomato paste, hot pepper, bouquet garni, and salt to taste and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 30 minutes. Stir in beans and heat through. Taste and adjust salt.
- Step 4
10 to 15 minutes before serving, stir in pasta. When it is cooked al dente, taste and adjust seasonings, stir in parsley, and serve, passing Parmesan in a bowl.
- Advance preparation: You can make the dish up through Step 3 a day or two ahead. Refrigerate, then bring back to a simmer, stirring often, before continuing.
Private Notes
Comments
A true classic Italian comfort food, of which there are probably as many recipes as there are Italian cooks. However, this one is just a big bowl of wrong. 1) WRONG BEANS! Pinto beans?! How awful! Borlotti beans. If you can't find them by name, look for cranberry beans. 2) Too much tomato! The tomato paste is enough, leave out the canned tomatoes. 3) NO SUGAR! What a crazy idea! 4) Add celery and carrots to the onions for a good soffritto. (to be continued...)
Hi, I am Italian, and the bean soup is served without parmigiano (or any kind of cheese). Also, is usually without tomatoes, or maybe a couple of fresh tomatoes or just a little spoon of tomato paste. But it is never so red and never cooked with sugar! Ditalini is the most common pasta for this recipe.
If not to be consumed in one seating, I usually put as much as needed in a separate saucepan and add the pasta. If the pasta is added all at once, the leftover soup will resemble wallpaper paste.
Good - nothing special.
Our furnace went out over a week ago during the coldest weekend we have had here for a while. Looking for something to cook on top of the stove to keep the house warm led me to this recipe and the simmered pinto beans recipe. I made the beans, kept my house warmer , and froze them in two batches. Today, I pulled out one of the batches and defrosted them. Because I cooked the whole amount of beans and divided them and the liquid evenly, I topped off the bean broth with a carton of Trader Joe’s vegetable broth. Otherwise, I kept it exactly the same. It was delicious. I used some macaroni from Trader Joe’s as well, which has a more curly shape and is ridged. I cooked it in the broth, not separately. I used the full 1/2 tsp of crushed red pepper, and it had a nice kick. I will definitely make this again.
Not great. Def feel like the pinto beans aren’t right for this dish.
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