Because of extra cooked jumbo macaroni, I made Pasta e Fagioli ;)

[colleenmomof2]

from Damn Delicious. We loved it! Perfect spices and tomato - truly reminded me of Olive Garden's! Easy to make recipe.

I substituted my jumbo macaroni for the ditalini and used white kidney (cannellini) beans instead of red - might sub the white kidney instead of the Great Northerns next time. I used cooked Italian sausage from the freezer but it was chewy and not very tasty so I removed most of the pieces for our second day. Next time, I plan to use ground beef instead of the sausage (from the original Cooking Classy recipe) and to add the beans with the tomatoes - I believe they will benefit from the 10-15 minutes cook. Colleen

OLIVE GARDEN PASTA E FAGIOLI

1 cup ditalini pasta

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 pound spicy Italian sausage, casing removed

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, diced

3 carrots, peeled and diced

2 stalks celery, diced

3 cups chicken broth

1 (16-ounce) can tomato sauce

1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

3/4 teaspoon dried thyme

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 (15-ounce) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 (15-ounce) can Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed

DIRECTIONS:

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions; drain well and set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add Italian sausage to the skillet and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the sausage as it cooks; drain excess fat and set aside.

Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the stockpot. Stir in garlic, onion, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes.

Whisk in chicken broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, basil, oregano, thyme, Italian sausage and 1 cup water; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered, until vegetables are tender, about 10-15 minutes.

Stir in pasta and beans until heated through.

Serve immediately.

Adapted from Cooking Classy

https://damndelicious.net/2014/05/17/olive-garden-pasta-e-fagioli/

 

[judy-mass]

I have a pot of pasta e fagioli on my stove as I type.

I had a neighbor who was 1st generation Italian who I shared some of my pasta e fagioli with a number of years ago. She told it it was the best she'd ever had!

I used Rancho Gordo Royal Corona beans in the past batches, but they were sold out this time. I am using their cassoulet beans instead. If you have not tried their beans and soup recipes, I suggest that you check it out.

I will be visiting that neighbor later this week and I wanted to bring her some.

 

[colleenmomof2]

Judy, how is your recipe different from the one I posted -

aside from using dry vs canned beans? With your and KarenNoCA's comments about Rancho Gordo, I do plan to order from them. We eat a lot of soup, and beans smileys/wink.gif Colleen

 

[judy-mass]

Colleen, I'll link the recipe so you can see it.

The first bunch of times I made it, I used the royal corona beans and the Baia pasta. I had neither this time, so cassoulet beans were used instead.

I will add tiny farfalle when I reheat it today to finish it off.

Jimtown Pasta Fazool
Pasta Fazool is Italian slang for pasta cooked with fagioli (beans)- something we think Louis Prima would love to eat! This recipe comes from our friends at Jimtown Store over in Sonoma.

Serves 6-8

1/4 pound diced Apple Smoked Bacon (optional) (we like Hobbs)
1 tablespoon good quality olive oil, (3-4 tablespoons if not using bacon)
1/2 cup finely diced sweet onion
1/4 cup finely diced celery
1/4 cup finely diced carrot
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
3/4 cup diced Roma tomatoes or canned crushed tomatoes with juice
1/2 pound Royal Corona or Cassoulet beans, soaked 6-8 hours
4 cups homemade chicken stock or your favorite canned chicken stock
6-8 cups water if necessary
1/2 teaspoon Mexican Oregano or 1 tablespoon fresh oregano chopped
1 cup pasta (your choice shape such as little tubes or broken papardelli noodles
1 tablespoon fresh Italian parsley chopped
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Da Vero Lemon Olive Oil to drizzle
Vella Dry Jack to grate to taste over the "fazool"



In a large heavy bottom soup pot, sauté bacon until browned. Remove bacon from pot with a slotted spoon and set aside. Discard all but about 1-2 tablespoons bacon fat and add 1 tablespoon olive oil (or start with 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil if you are not using bacon).
Over medium heat, sauté onions, celery, carrots, and garlic until soft and onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes, beans, stock, oregano, and return bacon to the pot. Simmer over medium heat until beans are tender, about 1 hour (cooking time may vary depending on freshness of beans). You may add water if necessary.
Add pasta and continue cooking until al dente. Remove from heat, stir in the parsley and allow the "fazool" to stand for 10 minutes before serving, to concentrate the flavors. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To serve: Drizzle individual bowls with Da Vero lemon olive oil, and sprinkle grated cheese on top.

https://www.ranchogordo.com/blogs/recipes/pasta-fazool-from-jimtown-store

https://www.ranchogordo.com/blogs/recipes/pasta-fazool-from-jimtown-store

 

[colleenmomof2]

Thanks, Judy! Printed and stapled

to the Damn Delicious recipe for next time comparison smileys/wink.gif Looking forward to getting an Instant Pot of black beans started to go with CathyZ's tomato soup. Colleen