Bean me up....

For warm comfort on these cold, dark winter nights, you might want to leave the foams and gels in the bathroom and stick to hearty, old-fashioned bean dishes. Italians are masters of this genre and one of their greatest hits is the Tuscan Pasta e Fagioli, pasta and beans. The debate as to whether it's soup or pasta has never been resolved, so soupy or dry it's perfectly delicious.

 Pasta e fagioli for 4

(This doubles easily)

 

1 cups dried white beans  (Great Northern, Cranberry, Cannellini)

1/4 cup olive oil

1 sm yellow onion, diced

1/2  tsp dried rosemary leaves

1/8 tsp fresh cracked black pepper

2 sm or 1 lg carrot, peeled and diced

1 lg celery stalk, diced

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried sage leaves

1 cup chopped tomatoes in their juice (canned or boxed is okay)

4 cups vegetable or beef broth

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)

¾ cup tubellini, ditalini, or some small pasta

handful arugula, chopped

½ cup freshly minced flat leaf parsley

parmesan cheese for garnish

Soak the beans overnight. Or if you're in a hurry, soak them in boiling water for two hours. Drain and rinse.

Line the bottom of a heavy gauge casserole or soup pot with the olive oil and warm it over medium heat. Add the onion, rosemary leaves and black pepper. Sauté over medium low heat until the onion is soft and golden.

Add the carrots and celery and continue to sauté another five minutes so they start to soften.

Add the oregano, sage and tomatoes in their juice. Stir to blend. Cook 7-8 minutes over low heat.

Add the beans and stir them in to the mix. Add the broth. Bring the pot to a boil. cover and immediately reduce heat to simmer. Cook 50-60 minutes until beans are tender.

Scoop out about 1/2-2/3 cup of the beans--veggies will come with them, that's okay, and puree them. Return to the pot to thicken the broth. Add salt to your taste.

Bring the pot again to a boil and add the pasta. Cook until pasta is done, about 10 minutes.  Toss in the arugula and parsley and turn off the heat. Let it sit 10 minutes before serving.

Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top of every bowl or plate.

Serve this with a kale or other green salad, crusty bread (olive bread would be delicious) and a platter of artisan cheeses.

Italians make something similar with black-eyed peas and sweet sausage. (That's plain pasta e fagioli in the bowl on the right.)

You add 2 cloves of minced garlic with the carrots and celery. With a fork, you puncture holes in the skin of 1 lb sweet sausage, then cut it into 1" chunks and add it before the tomato, cooking 5 minutes to brown.  And of course, you don't add the pasta. You can add 2 cups chopped kale instead.

More bean dishes coming...