Last night, my plan was to make my Pasta with Roasted Vegetables, then my husband and I decided we wanted to make something easier for dinner. While I was doing some research on classic Italian dishes yesterday, I ran across a recipe for Pasta e Fagioli, which means pasta and beans.
Pasta e Fagioli is traditionally a meatless Italian dish with cannellini beans, some type of small pasta like ditalini or elbow macaroni, and a base of extra virgin olive oil, garlic, minced onion, spices, and tomatoes. Some variations also use pancetta, which I might use instead of bacon the next time I make this dish.
I decided to stray from tradition and use spinach in my Pasta e Fagioli for some added color and vegetables. My whole family loved my Pasta e Fagioli last night, and it was great left over for lunch today.
Pasta e Fagioli
Ingredients
4 pieces of bacon - chopped
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium sweet onion - diced
1 tsp (2 cloves) minced garlic
40 oz chicken broth
2 cans cannellini beans - rinsed
1 can (28 oz) peeled San Marzano tomatoes - drained & chopped
1 tsp dried oregano
1 1/2 C baby spinach - chopped
1/2 lb (8 oz) gluten free pasta - ditalini or elbow macaroni
kosher salt + coarse ground black pepper - to taste
Grated or shaved Parmesan, Romano or Asiago - to taste
Directions
In a soup pot, cook the bacon over medium high heat until it is crisp. Add the olive oil and onion, cooking until the onion is soft, then add the garlic. Stir for about a minute, until the garlic begins to brown, then add the chicken broth. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
Add about 1/2 the beans to the pot, then use a potato masher to mash them before adding the rest of the beans, tomatoes, and oregano. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
Cook the pasta according to package directions until it is al dente. Drain and set aside.
Remove the soup pot from the heat and add the spinach and pasta. Stir and let sit, still covered, for 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve and garnish with Italian cheese.
Serves 6
Recipe Notes
I used a whole box of Le Veneziane gluten free ditalini in this recipe, which is a little over 1/2 a pound. I purchase it from amazon.com or vitacost.com. Le Veneziane is currently our favorite brand of gluten free pasta. My entire gluten-eating family loves it, and says it tastes just like the gluten-filled pasta they eat at restaurants. While my husband was eating the leftovers today for lunch, he made a point to tell me how well the pasta had held up overnight. I always cook my pasta with one tablespoon of kosher salt, so that it has some flavor.
Make sure your chicken broth is gluten free. I used one 32 ounce container, then had to add an 8 ounce container when I realized my Pasta e Fagioli needed a little more broth.
I used my favorite 3 cheese shaved Italian blend from The Fresh Market, which contains Parmesan, Romano and Asiago.
We served our Pasta e Fagioli with Rudi's gluten free ciabatta rolls.
This dish was inspired by a Queen of Green recipe for Pasta e Fagioli.
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