Pasta e Fagioli – Pasta and Beans Recipe
It is amazing to see how many versions of Pasta e Fagioli are printed in cookbooks or on the Internet. I searched many recipes for this delicious Italian traditional dish, but could not find one that was similar to the recipe my Mother made and taught me.
Pasta e Fagioli is Italian for pasta and beans. It can be considered a soup or a stew. It all depends on how much liquid you use. My recipe is more like a stew or as Rachel Ray has coined the expression “stoup”. It’s meatless, quick, hearty, and inexpensive to prepare. How many of you remember Dean Martin singing Amore and the famous lyrics “when the stars make you drool just like pasta fazool”? I guarantee this dish will make you drool! Enjoy.
Ingredients:
Serves: 6
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 28-oz can crushed Italian tomatoes
- 2 19-oz can cannellini beans (white kidney beans)
- 1/2 lb Ditalini pasta (small tube shaped pasta)
- Olive oil
- 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp. dried basil
- 2 tbs fresh parsley (flat leaf) chopped
- 2 tbs. fresh basil chopped
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (optional)
Directions:
- Drain and rinse cannellini beans and set aside.
- Sauté’ minced garlic until translucent. Add crushed red pepper (optional).
- Add tomatoes, salt, pepper, dried oregano, dried basil, fresh parsley, and fresh basil. Stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes until seasonings and tomatoes are well blended. Meanwhile boil a pot of salted water to cook pasta.
- Cook pasta until al dente and drain.
- Add pasta and beans to tomatoes and cook additional 10-15 minutes on low.
- Serve pasta e Fagioli hot along with grated parmesan cheese and crusty Italian bread.
Leftovers can be refrigerated and reheated the next day.
Filed under: Italian Food
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Hey Mrs Ahearn.. thank you SO much for the awesome Fagioli recipe.. my husband will be so happy if I make this for him.. never took the time to learn from his mom and grandmother! I thought it was called bazool.. duh! I do recall them making it and yes these meals will help feed a large family these days! All I learned to make from them was spaghetti sauce simmered pretty much all day with the beef or pork neck bones! I’ve got some cute pictures of my once toddler.. sucking neck bones.. gosh she’s now 24!
Anyway, I love your beautiful kitchen and I found you by looking up pizza dough for food processors on youtube.. I can’t wait to try out my new gadget, the farberware food processor.. love how you pronounce cuisinaire too.. lovely! I have the cuisinart stand mixer but wanted got chintzy on the processor so hopefully it’s got enough power to whip up a smaller amount of dough quickly and easily.. Never put marinara sauce on the pizza or the crushed red pepper so I eagerly await trying all these recipes!
Thanks again.. You’re a lovely and very helpful lady. God bless you!
Paulette
Hi Paulette:
Thank you so much for your lovely comments. I bet the spaghetti sauce you learned from your in-laws is superb. I hope I will be able to teach my grandchildren some of our family recipes. These memories and recipes are so precious to us as we grow older. Please let me know how the Pasta e Fagioli turns out. If your processor came with a dough blade it definitely will have the power to make pizza dough. My best wishes for a Happy Holiday to you and yours.