Page 49 - UMass2018_CookBook

Pasta e Fagioli
Clara Family, Newton, MA
“A real Italian comfort food! There are lots of regional variations of this recipe—for exam- ple, vegetarian, with or without tomatoes, or with the addition of different types of sausages or mussels.” — Petra Clara
Preparation
1. Soak the dry beans overnight, then rinse. Place the soaked beans and bay leaves in a large saucepan of water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until tender, about 1 hour 20 minutes. Drain the beans, but do not discard the cooking liquid.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery, prosciutto and lardo. Cook until the prosciutto is lightly browned but not crisp, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the garlic, beans and a ladle of the bean cooking liquid (if using canned beans, add vegetable stock or water, instead). Add the tomato purée, season with salt and pepper, and simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Scoop 2 ladles of the soup mixture into a blender. Blend until smooth.
5. Add the ditalini to the pot, along with some additional bean cooking liquid. Con- tinue cooking over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is al dente. Stir in the rosemary and the blended soup.
6. Remove the pot from the heat, cover and let rest for about 5 minutes before serving. Serve with crusty bread.
Ingredients
Serves 4 to 6
7 ounces dried cranberry beans or 2 (15-ounce) cans cranberry beans, drained
2 bay leaves
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
3 ounces prosciutto plus 3 ounces lardo, diced (or 6 ounces pancetta or bacon, diced)
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Vegetable stock or water (if using canned cranberry beans)
9 ounces tomato purée
Salt
Ground black pepper
11 ounces ditalini pasta
3 sprigs rosemary, finely chopped
Crusty bread, for serving
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