There's No Crying In Baseball And No Meat in Pasta e Fagioli*

I think I may have finally found my favorite Pasta e Fagioli recipe. The best part is that was not from a recipe. I had cooked cannellini beans in the freezer along with some cooked pasta. All I needed was the sauce. And you know what sauce I made. Yes, that sauce. The Marcella Hazan Tomato, Onion and Butter Sauce. Oh, this was the perfect sauce for this and the flavor was spot on.  After I made the sauce I added the thawed pasta and beans. Seasonings were added, a little oregano and crushed red pepper. We had it with the bread that I made this weekend. True comfort food.

*Quote from Chris Borzillo, August 24, 2016.

There's No Crying In Baseball And No Meat in Pasta e Fagioli*

I think I may have finally found my favorite Pasta e Fagioli recipe. The best part is that was not from a recipe. I had cooked cannellini beans in the freezer along with some cooked pasta. All I needed was the sauce. And you know what sauce I made. Yes, that sauce. The Marcella Hazan Tomato, Onion and Butter Sauce. Oh, this was the perfect sauce for this and the flavor was spot on. We had it with the bread that I made this weekend. True comfort food.

*Quote from Chris Borzillo, August 24, 2016.

Pasta e Fagioli with Escarole

The original recipe for tonight's dinner was called Vegetarian Pasta e Fagioli with Escarole. Well, I added a sliced Hot Dog and a Georgia Hot. The Georgia Hot added just enough heat. Could we have a new favorite Pasta e Fagioli recipe?

This is my version of the Bon Appetit, Vegetarian Pasta e Fagioli with Escarole-

Ingredients-
3 tbsp. olive oil
2 medium carrots, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 14.5-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
1¾ cup dry white wine
1 14.5-ounce can cannellini (white kidney) beans, rinsed and drained
1 Hot Dog, sliced
1 Georgia Hot, sliced
13 ounces dried lasagna or other flat pasta, broken into 1–1½-inch pieces
1 ½ small head of escarole, leaves torn into 2-inch pieces
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

Method-
Heat 3 Tbsp. oil in a large pot over medium. Cook onion and carrots, stirring occasionally, until softened, 8–10 minutes. Add tomatoes, crushing with your hands, and cook, stirring often, until liquid is almost completely reduced, 12–15 minutes. Add wine, bring to a boil, and cook until almost completely evaporated, about 5 minutes.

Add drained beans; cook until flavors meld, 12–15 minutes. Add the sliced Hot Dog and the Georgia Hot. Add pasta; cook, stirring and adding more water as needed, until al dente, 15–20 minutes. Add escarole and cook until wilted, about 1 minute; season with salt and pepper. Serve soup drizzled with oil and topped with Parmesan.

Pasta e Fagioli

 

Today would have been my Dad's 98th birthday. I wanted to make something for dinner that reminded me of him. And so we have Pasta e Fagioli. You all remember the "ice cream bean" story. I found this recipe in this month's ITALY magazine newsletter. Perfect timing! Click here for the recipe. My father had a thing for the Olive Garden's Pasta e Fagioli. He claimed it was the best ever. I picked some up to bring to his house once. He loved it. Chris and I were not impressed. At all. Tonight at dinner Chris said that if my father had tasted tonight's dinner, he would have to say this Pasta e Fagioli was the best.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Pasta E Fagioli

When I was little I use to hate having Pasta E Fagioli. My dad use to tell me that the beans were ice cream beans. I was very gullible. Now I look forward to having it for dinner. I am still in search of what I would consider the perfect recipe. This recipe came from La Cucina and is from the Campania region. The recipe called for celery and I thought why not add carrot too. I actually liked the carrot the best. It was good, Chris had seconds, but I was not blown away by it. So the search continues...

What is this? More info to come...

Pasta e Fagioli

I have been searching for some time now for the perfect recipe for Pasta e Fagioli. This one is very close to being named that recipe. It comes from La Cucina Italiana. The only change I would make is to add more broth. Just a little. Other than that it was very good. It did not have tomato in it, which I liked. I have always preferred my pasta with butter and cheese instead of tomato sauce. It is only since Chris showed up that I started making my mom's sauce. But back to tonight's recipe - it was easy. An immersion blender would have made it easier, wink, wink, nudge, nudge. : )