So another rainy day here at our Norwood Toyota Dealership made us start thinking about soup. Not just any soup…Pasta Fagioli! With the raw weather we started dreaming about it. So we decided to post the recipe for the best pasta fagioli we ever made. It was called Pasta Fazool so here it goes….
Pasta Fazool
2 tbls. light olive oil
5 lbs. lean ground beef
5 tbls. dried basil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1-12oz. can italian tomatoes with juices, diced
1-16oz. can cannelini beans
5 lbs. uncooked ditalini pasta
Salt and pepper to taste
parmesan cheese
extra virgin olive oil
Start by heating the oil over medium heat and browning the meat well. Lightly season with salt as your browning. Adding salt as you introduce a new ingredient into your dish is a good way of maintaining balance in your dish.
Make sure you make all those brown bits in the bottom of the pan, this will provide a lot of flavor later. Add the garlic and basil and cook for about 2 minutes more or until garlic is soft. Add tomatoes and simmer for 30 minutes.
Add your canned beans and about a cup of water. Allow this to boil, then add your uncooked pasta, Lower the heat to med-low and watch that the bottom doesn’t stick. The noodles will take longer to cook in this thick sauce than the usual 9-10 minutes but it is worth it. if needed, add some hot water as you go along.
The original recipe calls for the noodles to be cooked separately but I find that adding them directly to the stew makes it even heartier. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Add a pinch of basil to freshen it up and your ready to serve!
Ladle into bowls and top with extra virgin olive oil and freshly grated parmesan cheese. Mangiamo!
If this doesn’t fill you up and make you feel all warm inside I don’t know what will! Enjoy!
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