Pasta E Fagioli II

Submitted by bfp475

"Beans and Pasta"

 

• Ready In: 2hrs
• Ingredients: 8
• Yields: 1 batch

ingredients

• 700 -800 g cannellini beans (300-400g / 11-14 oz if dried)
• 200 g rigatoni pasta (short, fluted noodles)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 slice unsmoked bacon (fatty)
• 1 sprig sage
• 1 sprig rosemary
• 1 hot red pepper
• to taste olive oil

directions

1. Cook the beans over gentle heat for 45 minutes or an hour at the most (an hour-and-a-half if they are dried, after soaking in water, together with the herbs and garlic, for a couple of hours). In either case, do not add salt which tends to harden the skins.
2. Puree by putting through a vegetable mill, carefully eliminating the husks.
3. Put the garlic, rosemary, sage and cubed bacon to saute briefly in a saucepan with 4 tablespoons of oil.
4. Pour on the bean puree. Season lightly with salt and the red hot pepper to taste. Stir to blend the flavours and bring slowly to the boil.
5. Throw the pasta into the puree and cook until firm, diluting with a little of the bean cooking water, but only if necessary - the soup must be thick and rather solid.
6. It is excellent hot, but is absolutely delicious if heated up with the addition of a drop of first-rate olive oil.
7. If you prefer, leave a few beans whole and add them to the saucepan with the puree. Some cooks hold that a carrot is not out of place in the mirepoix (but then cut out the bacon), or that the soup loses nothing if you add a little tomato, even tomato concentrate (paste).

Reviews

[Rita1652]

Mirepoix is the French name for a combination of 3 ingredients usually onions, carrots and celery known as aromatics. Mirepoix is known as the holy trinity of French cooking. Combinations, may include leeks, parsnips, garlic, tomatoes, shallots, mushrooms, bell peppers, chilies, and ginger. For the combination mirepoix au gras, or a Matignon, ham and/or pork belly are used as additional ingredient's doubled the recipe adding sauteed onion and bell pepper with the hot pepper, garlic and bacon. The directions are very hard to follow. I used canned beans that I pureed (I don`t usually puree for Pasta Fagioli wanted to try it this recipes way. I cooked the pasta till al dente. Can`t see how they would cook in the thick bean puree. And would think that cooking in it would make it very starchy. I would add a broth to make it the soup it is to be.