Pasta e Fagioli (Pasta and Beans)

Ingredients:                                                                    Difficulty Rating: Easy

2 T olive Oil

• 5-6 cloves fresh garlic - chopped
• 2 carrots - chopped
• 2 T water
• 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
• 3 cups Veggie Broth (or Beef or Chicken, depending on your tastes and preferences)
• 2 cans of whole Italian Tomatoes (I prefer San Marzano)
• 1/2 pound pasta (I prefer a whole grain pasta pasta integrale to stand up to this soup, it adds a nutty flavor)
• 1 can of Cannellini beans, well rinsed
• Kosher salt (to taste)
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Plenty of Parmigianno Reggiano - grated
• Either microwave or steam the carrots for about 4 minutes - just enough to take away the crunch, but not to make them mushy

In a large soup pot saute the diced onions, garlic and crushed red pepper in 2 Tablespoons of olive oil until they are translucent, be careful not to burn them.  Note: when you saute garlic and onions in a soup pot try to keep them out of the center of the pot.  The bottom of soup pots are often raised in the center, so keep the garlic and onions around the outside of the pot to saute.

Add the tomatoes and the broth.

 

Use a tomato squisher to squish the tomatoes.  I prefer not to put them in the blender  Squishing them gives the soup extra substance. 

 

Cover and bring it to a boil. 

Lower the heat, keep the cover on partially - stir often.

Continue simmering for about 25 minutes

While simmering, bring another 2/3 filled water to a boil.

When the water for the pasta boils, add the pasta and cook for less time than you would normally cook it.

That is, cook it even less than you would for al dente, because it will continue cooking in the soup. It must be firm.

Drain the pasta when its done and add a little sauce to it so the pasta doesn't stick together.

After the soup cooks for about 25 minutes add the rinsed beans and the pasta.

Continue simmering for about 5 minutes

Add Parmigiano Reggiano.

Add salt and black pepper to taste.

Serve in big soup bowls with a crusty Italian bread, preferably pane integrale, whole grain. And don't forget to pass extra Parmigiano Reggiano around the table.

Note: The pasta will soak up most of the soup in a few hours, so when you serve it the next day you can either serve it as a pasta dish, not a soup, or you can add more broth to bring back the soupiness.

Spaghettata di Mezzanotte (aglio olio e peperoncino)! Midnight Spaghetti Party!

Ingredients                                                                             Difficulty Rating = Easy

·         A big pot half full of boiling water (A pot that is big enough to hold the pasta without breaking it in half.  It doesn’t have to be a giant pot, as you put the pasta in the boiling water, you push it down and that’s fine)

·         1 pound (approximately ½ kilo) of spaghetti

·         Sauté pan – big enough to hold the pasta after it is cooked.

·         Olive Oil – about ½ cup, plus more for later

·         5 or 6 good sized cloves of garlic (if your garlic cloves are small, add a few more or if you're crazy for garlic, add more)

·         1 ½ teaspoons crushed dried red pepper flakes (peperoncino) – if the flakes look brown, the taste is dead or dying, so make sure the flakes are nice and red.  (If you love HOT, add more - but consider your guests).

·         Salt & black pepper

·         Parmigiano-Reggiano – if you can get one big piece and each take what you want with a grater,that is good.

When it comes to a boil, add the spaghetti, stir and let it come to a boil again.  The pasta should be cooked about 6-8 minutes because you want it al dente – firm to the bite, not mushy.

Stir it after you put it in.

While the pasta is cooking:

Chop up the garlic into small pieces – It doesn’t have to be super small. Everyone has different opionions about this.  Marcella doesn't chop them at all, she justs throws them into the oil, lets them cook and then takes them out.  There's plenty of garlic flavor there, but I prefer them chopped pretty well.

Pour about ½ cup Olive Oil into a large sauté pan and put it over medium heat.  Add the garlic & pepperoncino and sauté until garlic is translucent, and turn off the heat. The garlic should get a little golden, but not burnt. 

When the spaghetti is al dente(you can usually tell when the boiling spaghetti forms a circle in the pot as it boils- taste it.  It should be firm, not hard, not soft, but firm) – put the frying pan back on the heat. By the way, 'al dente' means 'to the tooth', that is, when you bite it the pasta shouldn't be mushy, it should be firm enough for to bite it.

Put the pasta into the sauté pan and mix it with the garlic and pepperoncino.   Do not pour out the water that the pasta cooked in yet.



So many types of pepper.
Most are great tasting adventures!

I like to add about ½ cup of the cooking water  to the pasta and mix it again – let it cook just a little.  If it is too dry, add ¼ cup more water and try again. You do not want it like a soup – but you don’t want it super dry either.  When you taste the spaghetti, it should be firm, you should taste the oil and garlic and some heat from the pepperoncino – and it should be moist – it should not be swimming in oil or only have the taste of garlic.  It should just be delicious.

 

Serve with the cheese – as much cheese as you want.  Also put the olive oil on the table, people often want some more. And if you're anything like my friend Marcella, put the peperoncino on the table too.  She can't get enough!