This is not your Nonna’s pasta e fagioli. Found this on Italia Squisita on youTube.
Tradition: 4 generations, 100+ years in the
restaurant
Ingredients
- 1 lb
cranberry beans (PennMac has them in the bulk food bins)
- 4–5
garlic cloves
- Fresh
sage leaves
- 1
carrot, diced
- 1
celery stalk, diced
- 1
onion, diced
2–35 - 6 tbsp tomato paste- Extra
virgin olive oil
- Salt
& black pepper
- Fresh
rosemary
- 2–3
small chili peppers
1–2 tbsp lard (optional, for flavor)- 12 oz. Ditalini pasta (spelt pasta preferred)
Instructions
- Soak
Beans (Night Before):
- Place
beans in water with garlic cloves and sage. Leave overnight. (I started
in the morning and soaked for 3 hours, then pressure cooked.)
- Cook
Beans (Morning):
- Drain
soaking water.
- Add
beans, garlic, and sage, to a pot with fresh water, and a drizzle of
olive oil.
- Boil
for 2–2.5 hours until tender. (Alternatively, use the instant pot “Bean”
setting, 30 minutes high and then release.)
- Strain
beans, reserving cooking water. Keep a handful of whole beans aside.
- Prepare
Mirepoix:
- Sauté
carrot, celery, and onion in olive oil until lightly browned.
- Stir
in tomato paste and cook until dark.
- Add chili,
rosemary, and sage and cook a little longer
- Add
drained beans to pot.
- Crush
remaining beans through a sieve into the mirepoix, thinning with cooking
water. (I just mashed with a potato masher.)
- Return
bean cooking liquid to pot and simmer until creamy.
- Cook
Pasta:
- Add
pasta to the broth. Cook longer than package directions (e.g., 15 minutes
instead of 9) for a softer texture.
- Add
reserved whole beans back in. Adjust salt. (No salt anywhere else in this recipe, so you'll need a lot!)
- Finish
& Serve:
- Ladle
into bowls.
- Drizzle
with olive oil, sprinkle black pepper, and garnish with sage leaves.
- Parmesan
is optional, believe it or not.
Notes
- First
trial was with the smaller amount of tomato paste. We think more will be
better.
- This
dish is considered a “poor dish” of Tuscan tradition, but rich in
taste and history.
