We’ve never eaten pasta e fagioli in Italy. We’ve never even seen it on a menu there, though a reliable source (Michele Sciocolone) tells us it is Neapolitan. (That’s why we posted the Neapolitan chef and food vendor miniatures above. They’re masked for Carnavale and sold on the same street as Christmas creche figures.)
The dish—‶pasta fazool″ in the Neapolitan dialect—has an Italian-flavored familiarity that marks it as real comfort food. Turns out that it’s known mainly in Italian-American cuisine. It’s from that branch of cooking born when immigrants made do with canned and dried commodities rather than the fresh ingredients they knew in the old country.
We’re all immigrants now to the world of social distancing and staying indoors. We’re making do with canned and dried ingredients when we can’t get fresh food from the grocery store. Like a lot of people, we stocked up on dried pasta, dried legumes of all kinds, and canned tomatoes when we first went into semi-lockdown. Fortunately, we also made sure we had lots of onions, garlic, carrots, and celery so we could make soffritto, the aromatic veggie mix at the base of so many soups and sauces. Next step, we need to figure out what to do with all those remaining dried beans and lentils.
Pasta e fagioli, aka ‶pasta fazool″
One key to this recipe is to use pasta, beans, and chopped celery that are all the same size. The contrast of flavors and textures helps makes the dish interesting.
FOR BEANS
1/2 lb dried navy beans (soaked overnight in 4 cups water, then drained)
3 cups water
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 celery rib, coarsely chopped
1 carrot, coarsely chopped
1 small onion, coarsely chopped
1 garlic clove, sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
Combine all ingredients in a pot and bring to boil. Skim off any foam. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until beans are soft but not mushy (about 90 minutes). Remove vegetables and bay leaf. Yields 3 cups of cooked beans. Reserve for pasta e fagioli. Beans can be cooked ahead and refrigerated until needed.
FOR PASTA E FAGIOLI
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 oz bacon cut in 1-inch squares
2 celery ribs, chopped in 1/4-inch chunks
1/4 cup minced parsley
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 14-oz can diced tomatoes
pinch of crushed red pepper
3 cups cooked dried navy beans, drained
salt
water
8 ounces ditalini
grated Parmigiano or Romano cheese
Heat olive oil in heavy stew pot and add bacon squares. Cook slowly to render bacon. Remove bacon and chop. Reserve.
Add celery, parsley, and garlic to oil and cook until celery is softened. Add tomatoes and simmer for 15 minutes. Add pinch of crushed red pepper and taste. Add more red pepper and salt, if needed.
Stir in cooked beans and cook for 10 minutes. Mash a few beans with the back of a spoon to thicken.
Bring two quarts of water to boil in a separate pot. Salt the water and stir in ditalini. Cook al dente and drain, reserving some cooking liquid. Add pasta to the beans and vegetables and cook for 10-15 minutes. Thin with some pasta water so mixture is soupy. Serve with grated cheese.