Pasta e Fagioli (Italian Pasta and Bean Soup) recipe from the legendary Rao's Restaurant in NY

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Note: This is one of my winter favorites. I purchase the diatli pasta from Rao's online store, but a good substitute is "salad macaroni" (they look very similar). Prosciutto and Pancetta give the finished product slightly different nuances but both are equally good in this dish. Make sure to get a good fresh loaf of bakery French or Italian bread and a nice bottle of wine to go with this.

If you are having friends or a "special someone" over for dinner and really want to make a killer impression, make this the day before and let the flavors do their thing in the refrigerator overnight. I once served this as an opening course, followed by salad, chicken Manicotti, and tiramisu with fresh-brewed Espresso for dessert.

This one's for Susan but I'm sharing it with the rest of you too.

:-)

Pasta e Fagioli (Italian Pasta and Bean Soup)



1/2 cup fine quality olive oil
1 cup diced onion
1/3 cup diced prosciutto or pancetta
2 cloves garlic, peeled
4 cups cooked beans with 1 cup of their cooking liquid or 2-15oz cans Great Northern or Cannellini beans with their liquid
4 cups Chicken Broth
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups Rao's canned imported Italian plum tomatoes,
well drained and chopped
1 pound Ditali pasta cooked
1/4 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese, optional

1. Combine oil, onion, prosciutto, and garlic in a large saucepan over medium heat. Saute for about 5 minutes or until onions are translucent and begin to turn golden. Do not burn garlic.

2. Stir in beans and their liquid. Add broth and salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Add tomatoes and return to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

3. Stir in pasta and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Serve hot, sprinkled with Pecorino Romano cheese, if desired.

Note: You can eliminate the tomatoes for a rich, creamy soup; however, you might need to add additional bean or chicken broth if you prefer a thinner soup.

http://www.raos.com/recipes/quickrecipes.htm

[Gormy Cuss]

1. Pasta fazool!

Great stuff. I 'll try this recipe and see how it compares.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

2. I can tell you that it's very, very "authentic Italian."

I tried a number of recipes in an attempt to nail the flavors I knew and loved growing up, and this recipe is the real deal.

:toast:

[Gormy Cuss]

4. I won't believe you unless you post your baked manicotti recipe too.

Even then I may need to see more proof of this "authentic Italian"
stuff. :+

My mother, no Italian ancestry at all, made an excellent pasta e fagioli, spaghetti and meatballs, caponata, and deep dish pie. She had Italian-American friends who taught her.

These days I've expanded my Italian recipe repertoire by recreating Lidia Bastianich's dishes from her PBS show.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

6. Lidia's a great resource. Here's another:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71FKJ1BE0YL._BO2,204,203,200_PIlitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_OU01_AA240_SH20_.gif

Anything by Marcella is worth checking out.

http://www.amazon.com/Marcellas-Italian-Kitchen-Marcella-Hazan/dp/0679764372/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198199057&sr=8-3

I own two books of hers, "Classic Italian Cooking" and "More Classic Italian Cooking."

:toast:

[Gormy Cuss]

7. Oh, I want Marcella's classics.

She is the Julia Child of Italian cooking in America.

[hippywife]

8. delete - wrong place

[hippywife]

9. My Italian grandmother

never made this as soup. It was just pasta with great northern beans, tomatoes, and parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and basil. No meat because it was what they made for Friday night dinners. Nothing fancy, just simple peasant fare.

[Adsos Letter]

3. MY FAVORITE SOUP....!!!

...(weeping tears of joy)...

:D

[WolverineDG]

5. Looks yummy!

:9

dg

[KitchenWitch]

10. Bookmarked!