That's Amore!

​When the moon hits your eye like a big-a pizza pie, That's amore.
Dean Martin made this song famous along with the line,
When the stars make you drool Joost-a like pasta fazool, That's amore.
 
And since I’ve been in Italy I’ve been looking for this Pasta Fazool.
But what kind of pasta is Pasta Fazool?
Well, I’ve come to find out that it’s not a pasta dish at all. It’s a soup!
 
Pasta e fagioli, meaning "pasta and beans", is a traditional Italian soup. It is often called pasta fazool in the United States, derived from its Neapolitan name, pasta e fasule. Like many other Italian favorites, including pizza and polenta, it started as a peasant dish, being composed of inexpensive ingredients.
 
I’ve decided since its winter and its getting cold outside that I’d try a few pasta e fagioli recipes until I find the one we like best. I tried a few from the internet but the best one, of course, comes from Domenico's mother using only the freshest ingredients.
 
Abruzzo’s version of ‘pasta e fagioli’ is called ‘sagne e fagioli’ and is a rustic dish sometimes made with chickpeas instead of beans.  But usually, it’s made by cooking ‘borlotti’ (pinto) beans in sauce, while strips of homemade pasta are added to the pot near the end of cooking. The homemade pasta noodles are made with flour and water, while the sauce is usually made with tomatoes, celery, carrots, onions, chili peppers, and olive oil.

Here’s my favorite Pasta e Fagioli Recipe:

20 g of cut pasta (cut pasta means homemade pasta cut as you like) otherwise use tiny dried pasta, such as stelline, acini di pepe, orzo, and tubettini. These tiny pastas continue to soak up liquid as the pot sits on the stove, so it's important to serve the soup as soon as the pasta is cooked
1 stalk of celery
1 carrot
½ medium onion
¼ cup of tomato sauce
1 fresh sage leaf
400 g of fagioli
2 cups of vegetable broth (homemade is best)
Olive oil
Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper
 
Chop celery, carrot, and onion finely.  Put a bit of olive oil in your soup pot and saute the vegetables on medium heat.  When onion mixture becomes soft, add the drained beans to the pot.  Chop a fresh sage leaf and add that too.  (Dom's mother will sometimes drop in a parmesan rind if she has one, but its for flavor - not to eat). Add two cups of vegetable broth and cover.  Bring to a boil and then let simmer for 30 minutes.
​
After 30 minutes or so, scoop out about a cup of the soup and blend with a hand-blender then return it to the pot. Next, add the pasta and let it cook for another 5 minutes. 

Serve in a ceramic bowl with salt/pepper and shredded parmesan cheese.  Then drizzle your best olive oil on top!
Serves 4
 
Options:        

• If you like garlic, go ahead and add a clove with your vegetables when sautéing.
• If you like meat you can add bacon, Italian sausage or prosciutto also when sautéing the vegetables.
• Or for more of a vegetarian twist, add some kale when you add the pasta.

If you are interested in visiting Abruzzo and experiencing authentic abruzzo cooking, or maybe even taking part in the wine or olive harvest - simply contact us at [email protected] today.