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When the stars make you drool, just-a like pasta fagioli, that’s amore…

Maybe I’m just an overly sensitive person, but with the shock of the flooding and the 10 year anniversary of 9/11, it has been an emotionally draining week. With the damp cold clinging to the autumn air and the soggy ground seeping through my shoes, it is soup time in my kitchen. So until the sun decides to finally show its face, the soup will warm my body, mind & soul.

This is not the Olive Garden copy cat recipe, so turn away now if that’s what you’re after. I’m trying for a bit more authentic. I’m pretty sure that this is a traditional peasant dish and therefore wouldn’t have meat in it… After all, the two namesake ingredients, pasta and beans, are the most inexpensive ingredients one could use. Modern recipes do add meat, but today I do not… (maybe when I need to make it a little heartier in the cold winter).

Pasta Fagioli

Pasta Fagioli

Ingredients:
3 c. cannellini beans, 3 c. red kidney beans, 1/2 lb. cooked radiatori, 1 c. diced tomatoes, olive oil, minced onions, garlic, 2 bay leaves, 1 grated carrot, 2 stalks of celery, 1″ chunk of pecorino romano, vegetable broth, a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, fresh cracked black pepper.

Directions:
Warm olive oil in bottom of soup pot. Chop celery into small pieces and add to pot with onions. Saute until tender.  Add broth and cheese and bring to a boil. Add remaining ingredients, reduce heat to low and simmer. Let stand for 10 minutes and discard bay leaves before serving.

Serve hot with a crisp salad and yeasty bread. Top with fresh grated cheese if desired.

What is warming you up today?