Pasta e Fagioli

March 21, 1999

Why do American cooks feel that it is necessary to "interpret" each dish that they prepare?  Why do we constantly continue to embellish upon things that are fine as is?  Why do we always try to prove that more is better?  the May 1999 Issue of Fine Cooking includes an article entitled "Using Pastas in Soups".   The article in and of itself is not a bad article.  However the recipe given for "Minestra di Pasta e Fagioli"  is nothing like the original, and includes ingredients that no Italian would probably consider using unless perhaps they had made this soup so many times that they were completely bored with the wonderful flavors of the original.

Pasta e Fagioli or "Pasta Fazool" in dialect is a hearty soup of the poor.  It is made with the humblest of ingredients and over the years has evolved to the point where the tastes are pretty much as perfect as a simple dish can be. Why then introduce ingredients that are most often never included in either Italy or in any restaurant of Italian origin where adherence to authenticity is the goal?  Probably because the authors either never had authentic Pasta e Fagioli, or because they felt that for the article they had  better come up with something snazzy.  Well, in our opinion, they blew it!

Their recipe is given below.   Additionally, two authentic recipes are provided below  the one presented in Fine Cooking. On is from "La Scuola di Cucina", a cook book in Italian used to teach cooking and the other is from Giuliano Bugialli's "The Fine Art of Italian Cooking".  for those who want to make a serious study of many of the various ways that pasta and bean have bee melded in Italian cookery, another Bugialli book may be just the ticket: "Bugialli on Pasta". Simon & Schuster, 1988, ISBN # 0-671-62024-X.   Finally, there is the recipe in my late father's little cookbook "Pat's Pride".  I must admit, I like that one best.

Admittedly, there are probably as many Pasta e Fagioli recipes in Italy as there are regions.  However the underlying theme of all that we have found is their frugality.  Lest we forget as we try to improve upon the dishes we have either inherited or have come to want to emulate:   The objective is to taste the ingredients as the ingredients, not to hide them with a farrago of other tastes.

Fine Cooking Recipe - May 1999, #32

Ingredients

• 3        Tbs. Extra Virgin Olive oil
• 1        Lb. Pork stew meat, cut into 1/2 in. dice
• 1/4     Lb. Pancetta cut in to strips
• 1/4     Lb. Prosciutto skin or skin form salt pork, whole or cut into strips - optional
• 1        Lg. Onion - chopped
• 6        Cloves garlic - chopped
• 1        Fennel bulb (about 3/4 lb.), trimmed and diced
• 1        Rib Celery - diced
• 8-10   Cups homemade or low salt canned chicken stock
• 1 1/2  Cups dried white beans (about 10 oz.0
• 1        Cup cooked or canned chickpeas (about 1/2 lb.)
• 1        Cinnamon stick
• 1        Bay leaf
• 1        Sprig Fresh Rosemary
• 1/2     Lb. Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese rind (optional)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Freshly grated   Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese fir sprinkling

In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium- high heat and cook the pork, pancetta and prosciutto until they turn color, about 5 minutes.  Add the onion, garlic, fennel and celery and cook until softened. Add the chicken stock, white beans, chickpeas, cinnamon stick, bay leaf and rosemary.   Season with salt and pepper.

Bring to a boil, about 10 minutes, and then reduce the heat to medium low and cook until the beans are soft, about 1 1/2 hours.   Add the pasta and cook until al dente, 10 - 15 minutes, stirring.  Discard the cinnamon stick, bay leaf and rosemary sprig.  Both the prosciutto skin and Parmigiano rinds can be eaten if you like.  Serve immediately with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Comment:  Cinnamon? Prosciutto? Pancetta? Pork Stew Meat? Pasta e Fagioli is a dish developed and eaten by the poor.   Any meats, except in some regions for pork skin or prosciutto rind,  were usually not used here. We have found one recipe from Venice that calls for prosciutto.   That is the only one.   In Sicily where a sweeter dish is preferred, Fennel is often substituted for celery.  For a  Sicilian recipe , see "Sicilian & American Pasta" by John Penza & Tony Corsa. Ten Speed Press 1994  ISBN # 0-89815-621-1. 

La Scuola di Cucina - Translated by The Artisan Staff

Ingredients:

• 300 g. Dried borlotti beans - soaked over night in water
• 200 g. Maltagliati Pasta (another short or flat pasta can be used)
• 200 g. Tomato sauce - passed through a food mill or a food processor
• 30  g.  Butter
• Q.B.    Grated Parmesan cheese
• 1          Carrot
• 1          Celery stalk - white part
• 1          Handful of parsley
• Q.B.    Salt
• Q.B.    Olive oil

Dice the carrot, the onion, the celery and the parsley.  Put them into a fire resistant clay casserole (or a heavy bottomed pot) and add the butter and 2 Tbl. of olive oil.  Sauté at moderate heat until the vegetables are somewhat soft.  Add the tomato sauce and the beans.  Add enough water to cover everything, add salt and bring to a boil over moderate heat.

When the beans are soft, pass half of them through a food mill (or whip in a food processor) and return them to the pot.  simmer gently unto you obtain a thick broth.  [Cooking times are not given, but usually when the beans are soft the soup is ready]

Add the pasta, continue cooking while stirring frequently so that nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot.  When cooked, serve with abundant grated Parmesan cheese and pepper.  Finish with a drizzle of olive oil in each bowl.

Bugialli's Recipe for Pasta e Fagioli

Ingredients

• 2       Cups dried white cannellini beans
• 1       Small slice prosciutto rind (unsmoked) or salt pork
• 1       Small potato
• 1       Medium red onion
• 2       Cloves garlic
• 1/4    Cup olive oil
• 10     Cups water
• 1       Cup canned tomatoes
• Q.B.  Salt and pepper
• 8 Oz. Good quality imported dried pasta, medium sized shells or large elbows
• 6        Heaping Tsp. of grated Parmigiano cheese

Soak the beans overnight in cold water.

the next day, cook the prosciutto rind in boiling water for 2 minutes, then rinse well under cold running water, and cut into small pieces.  Peel the potato and cut into small dice.

Chop the onion and garlic coarsely and place then in a stockpot, preferably terra-cotta, along with the olive oil. Sauté very gently until golden, then add the drained beans, the potato pieces. cold water, tomatoes, and pieces of prosciutto rind.  cover and simmer very slowly for at least 2 hours. Taste for salt and pepper, then add the pasta to the pork and cook until al dente.   allow to cool for 10 minutes, then serve sprinkling Parmigiano and freshly ground black pepper over each serving.

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Last updated on: 06/03/99 12:50:49 AM

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