Directions
“Pasta and beans” (Pasta e Fagioli in Italian) is one of the oldest and most important recipes for humanity because it has always provided an excellent intake of carbohydrates and noble proteins. Especially in past centuries, when meat was a luxury for a select few and there were no tofu escalopes, this kind of bean and pasta soup has fed the masses.
For this reason, today, we will make this great classic of home cooking. And look that the recipe, despite being vegan, is a crazy protein concentrate.
So if you are looking for a unique dish, keep it in mind. Before leaving, remember that there is no authentic pasta and beans or traditional recipes. Still, only a constellation of recipes: every cook, every family has their recipe of the heart.
So make all the changes you want: who put some bacon in the pan to sauté, who uses butter, who lard or bacon. Even if considering the density of texture and flavor of the beans, we advise you to use extra virgin olive oil and not add pork or pork rinds. In the last century, they worked 14 hours in the fields and calories were life. Today they are considered almost absolute evil. Please keep it simple!
Which beans to use to make pasta and beans?
And we will immediately reveal the secret to making the perfect pasta and beans: use dried beans or, if you find them even better fresh, never canned pre-cooked ones. If you’re in a hurry, that’s fine, but if you want to make a thick dish, soak the beans the night before cooking. If you are forced to use canned beans, use the water from the beans to cook the pasta, don’t throw it away!
Ingredients and doses for making pasta and beans
8 servings
- 500 grams of dry beans
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 onions
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 50 grams of carrots
- 70 grams of celery
- 35 grams of extra virgin olive oil
- 8 grams of salt
- 5 grams of pepper
- a sprig of fresh rosemary
How to make pasta and beans
The evening before preparing the dish, soak the beans in 2.5 liters of cold water and let them rest until morning. When the sun rises, boil the beans with the two bay leaves, a little olive oil and 1/4 of an onion. If there is any cooking water left over, do not throw it away; instead, use it for cooking pasta.
Now finely chop the onions, carrots, garlic and celery. Take a thick-bottomed pot (even cast iron is perfect, it transmits the heat slowly and very evenly) and then put plenty of extra olive oil in it, heat it for 2 minutes, then gently brown the chopped vegetables. Don’t rush. Add a drop of water and let it dry slowly.
After 15 minutes of cooking the sauté, add the drained beans, season with salt and pepper and cook, adding the cooking water from before. Over low heat, remember to add water: if you run out of beans, use regular water or vegetable broth, but it is not salty.
Taste the beans. You can cook the pasta inside the beans. Add a little water to lengthen the soup, add the rosemary, and cook the pasta. If it is dry pasta, follow the instructions on the box, like 8 minutes, but if you want to cook the maltagliati, it takes just a few minutes, already with four, they are cooked. Rosemary should be added at the end before cooking the pasta.
When the pasta is cooked, put it on plates, season with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a sprig of rosemary.
As you can see, we have prepared a hyper protein and delicious dish, without meat and grated cheese, making the dish too tasty.
Which pasta to use for pasta and beans?
Ditalini is a classic, but if you had 10 minutes available by chance, you could do two maltagliati on the fly. Here is the recipe for making Emilian puff pastry for a great cook’s fresh pasta. Once the dough is rolled out, cut it into strips and cut each strip diagonally, making triangles.
Which wine to pair with pasta and beans?
The dish is consistent, rich, protein, so it needs a wine with a good structure, so it must have acidity or effervescence or tannins. The choice falls on a Lambrusco di Grasparossa or a very structured white wine such as Chardonnay, perhaps also aged in wood or a Vernaccia di San Gimignano. Even a classic method sparkling wine such as Champagne or Franciacorta would be a good companion, or if you want to go traditional, a Montecucco Rosso DOC.
Negroni is fabulous with Pasta e Fagioli if you want to pair a cocktail.
