Pasta e Fagioli
Yesterday was a pretty dreary day in Portland (as is today - brrr) and I wanted to make something warm that could sit on the stove until Justin got home from band practice. Pasta e Fagioli is one of my favorite one-pot dishes to make, and since most, if not all, ingredients can be found in your pantry, pretty cheap as well. Since it translates to “Pasta and Beans” there’s no need to follow the recipe below exactly (I didn’t!)
Ingredients & Method: (adapted from the one time my Mom taught me)
- 5 cloves of garlic
- 1 onion
- 1/2 lb. sausage (this is the only special thing I bought to make this - maybe I should’ve checked before I went to the grocery store)
- 1/2 bag of spinach
- 1/2 chicken bouillon (or 8 oz chicken stock)
- 1/2 box of small pasta (I usually ditalini, but we only had farfalle in the pantry)
- 1 can cannelloni beans, drained (again, didn’t have this either, so I used chick peas)
- 1 30 oz. /2 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
- olive oil
- 2 tsp. tomato paste (I have a tube that I just squeeze in - so maybe a 3/4 second squeeze)
- salt and pepper to taste
- grated parmigiano reggiano
Heat up the olive oil in a large pot. Once it is bubbling, throw in your chopped onion and garlic.
Sautee them until the onions are translucent. In the meantime, break open the sauage casting and form small balls/chunks with the links.
Brown the sausage with the onions and garlic; be sure to stir occasionally so nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot.
Once the sausage is sufficiently browned, pour the can(s) of tomato and the bouillon cube/stock into the pot, turn up the heat, and bring to a boil.
Once boiling, pour the pasta in, reduce the heat, and simmer until the pasta is tender.
Toss in the can of beans and continue to simmer a bit longer.
Right before you’re ready to serve, throw in a bunch of spinach and let it wilt.
I served mine up with Potato Sour Cream Biscuits and some lovely Charles Shaw Cabernet Sauvignon from Trader Joe’s.
I love the colors of this dish, and the best part of making this is that there are always a bunch of leftovers that taste just as good a few days later. Enjoy!
(meg)
