February 25

Pasta e Fagioli

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• Pasta e Fagioli [View Recipe]

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  Ingredients

  • 1.5 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 small onions (chopped)
  • .5 cup carrots (sliced)
  • .5 cup celery (chopped)
  • 1 medium zucchini
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1 teaspoon basil
  • sprinkle oregano
  • salt & pepper
  • 28 ounces tomatoes
  • 19 ounces cannellini (drained and rinsed)
  • 1 cup water
  • 6 ounces spinach
  • 2 tablespoons parsley
  • .75 pound pasta
  • cheese
  • hot pepper flakes

  Instructions

  We begin by heating a large pot of water for the pasta and our dutch oven with the olive oil for the "sauce". We add the onions to our dutch oven and cook on medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Then we add the carrots and celery and continue to cook for another 5 minutes. Meanwhile, we quarter our zucchini lengthwise and slice it, yielding about 2 cups. We add the zucchini and cook for a couple of minutes while we mince the garlic with a little salt. Then we add the garlic, dried basil, and dried oregano. We cook for a minute and add the can of tomatoes. Using a wooden spoon, we chop up the tomatoes right in the dutch oven. Finally, we add the beans, water, and some salt and pepper. We partially cover and simmer gently for about 20 minutes.

  About 10 minutes before the "sauce" is ready, we add the pasta to the boiling water with some salt. We stir and cook until al dente.

  Meanwhile, we rinse the spinach (the package did not indicate it was "triple-washed") and chop the parsley. A couple of minutes before the pasta is ready, we add these to the cooked bean-vegetable mixture and taste for salt and pepper.

  We drain the pasta in a colander. We spoon some pasta into each bowl and top with the "bean sauce" and some freshly grated Locatelli and hot pepper flakes. The remaining pasta we toss with a little of the sauce so it does not clump.

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