Pasta e Fagioli

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.  

Turkey Noodle Soup

Yesterday, we made panini with our Thanksgiving leftovers.  Today, we decided to make turkey noodle soup.

Our leftover smoked turkey added a subtle smoky flavor to our soup.  

I used a 12 oz box of Schar Tagliatelle for my gluten free noodles.  

I love that we were able to use our leftover onion, carrots, spinach, turkey, and chicken broth in this soup.  Our fridge is much emptier, and our bellies our full.  This was my first year making a turkey soup with our leftovers, and it's a tradition I will definitely be continuing in future years, because it was so delicious!

Turkey Noodle Soup

Ingredients

2 T olive oil
1 medium sweet onion - diced
15 to 30 baby-cut carrots - chopped
1 tsp (2 cloves) minced garlic
2 32-ounce containers gluten free chicken broth
3 to 4 C cooked turkey - cut into bite-size pieces
5 oz baby spinach - chopped
8 to 12 oz gluten free pasta - cooked according to package directions
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 tsp coarse ground black pepper
Grated or shaved Parmesan, Romano, or Asiago

Directions

In a large soup pot, saute the onion and carrots in olive oil, over medium heat, until they begin to soften.  Add the garlic, stirring until it begins to brown, then add the chicken broth, turkey, pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.  Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat, and simmer for 20 minutes.  Increase the heat to medium high before adding the noodles and spinach.  Stir the soup every minute or two until the spinach is wilted.  Add more salt and pepper if needed, then serve and garnish with grated or shaved cheese.

Recipe Notes

The amount of turkey and spinach I used is an estimate, because we didn't measure these ingredients before adding them to the soup.  I used an Italian shaved cheese blend of Parmesan, Romano, and Asiago.

Five Bean Soup

Last fall, I started making Queen's Three Bean Soup, a recipe my mom created.  My daughters and husband loved it so much, I made this soup every couple of weeks throughout the fall and winter.  

I started to change up the tomatoes and beans, and soon, Queen's Three Bean Soup became a five bean soup recipe.



Last night, I added a parmesan rind to the soup as it cooked, and chopped spinach towards the end.

We all agreed that the soup was the best it has ever been.  

Garnished with a shaved Italian cheese blend of parmesan, romano and asiago, the soup was so delicious, and the leftovers were just as good today for lunch.  

Five Bean Soup

Ingredients

1 medium sweet onion -- diced

1 T olive oil

2 tsp minced garlic

7 C gluten free chicken stock or broth

1 can cannellini beans - rinsed

1 can Great Northern beans - rinsed

1 can pinto beans - rinsed

1 can dark red kidney beans - rinsed

1 can black beans - rinsed

1 carton San Marzano crushed or diced tomatoes (26.46 oz/750g) 

Parmesan rind

1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

3/4 tsp thyme

3/4 tsp oregano

3/4 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp coarse ground black pepper

12 oz (4 cups) uncooked fusilli, rotini, or other gluten free pasta

5 oz baby spinach - chopped

Grated or shaved parmesan, romano, or asiago - to taste

Directions

Saute the onion in olive oil, in a large soup pot over medium heat, until it begins to soften.  Add the garlic, stirring constantly for a minute or two until it begins to brown, then add the chicken stock, beans, tomatoes, parmesan rind, salt, thyme, oregano, basil, and pepper.  Bring the soup to a boil over high heat, then turn the burner to low, and put a lid on the pot.  Simmer for 20 minutes. 

While the soup is simmering, cook your pasta according to package directions.  

Before serving, remove the parmesan rind, and add the spinach & pasta to the soup.  Continue to cook the soup for a couple of minutes, until the spinach has begun to wilt.  Garnish each bowl with grated or shaved cheese.  

Serves 8

Recipe Notes

Yesterday, I started making this soup right after lunch.  After it simmered for 20 minutes, I turned the heat off, and allowed it to sit on my stove, covered, until I was ready to cook dinner.  My mom uses this technique, because she feels the soup is more flavorful.  If you have the time, I suggest making the soup a couple of hours before you are going to serve it, then reheat it, and add the spinach and pasta to the soup.  Dinner preparation was so much more relaxed, because most of the work was already done before I picked up my kids from school.  

After reading some scary things about canned tomatoes and how their acidity can cause BPA to leach into your food, I have been buying San Marzano tomatoes in a carton from Whole Foods.  I have also used a bag and a half (15 oz) of fresh San Marzano tomatoes (diced) in this recipe.  

You could drizzle your soup with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil before serving.  A really flavorful oil works best.  

I use 4 cups of BiAglut gluten free fusilli or a 12 oz box of Barilla gluten free rotini in this recipe.  

Linked to:  Gluten-Free Wednesdays, Gluten-Free & DIY Tuesday, Gluten Free Fridays

Creamy Parmesan White Bean Soup

I recently pinned a recipe for creamy parmesan white bean stew with spicy greens from the blog How Sweet It Is.  This recipe and several others would become the inspiration for the creamy parmesan white bean soup I made tonight.  

I was amazed at how perfect it was.  Sometimes you hit a home run on your first attempt at creating or making a new recipe, and this was one of those times.  

My inspiration recipe contained bacon, but I decided to use a package of Boar's Head Pancetta that I purchased from Publix.  

This was my first time using a parmesan cheese rind in a soup.  I cut off the rind for cooking in the soup, and grated the rest of the Parmigiano Reggiano for garnish.  I purchased this small piece of parmesan at The Fresh Market.  

My inspiration recipe called for anchovies and smoked paprika, which I had no interest in putting in my soup, so I decided to add some sprigs of rosemary after reading a recipe for Tuscan Bean Soup from Emeril Lagasse.  

My whole family loved the soup, and it now might top my list of favorite soups.  It's at least tied with my Creamy Corn & Potato Soup with Cotija Cheese.  It was amazingly delicious!

Creamy Parmesan White Bean Soup

Ingredients

1 T + 1 tsp olive oil
1 large sweet onion -- diced
4 oz pancetta -- cut into small pieces
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp coarse ground black pepper
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 tsp minced garlic
4 C gluten free chicken broth/stock
4 cans white beans -- rinsed
1 parmesan cheese rind
2 sprigs of rosemary
5 oz baby spinach -- roughly chopped
Grated parmesan for serving

Directions

Add the olive oil to a large pot and heat it over medium high heat.  Add the onion and pancetta, stirring well until the onion has softened and beings to brown.  Reduce the heat to medium and add the salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and garlic.  Stir well for about 2 minutes until the garlic begins to brown, then add the chicken stock, white beans, parmesan cheese rind, and rosemary sprigs.

Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.  At the end of this time, remove the rosemary and parmesan rind.  Using a potato masher, smash the beans a bit to thicken the soup.  Add the spinach, and cook for another 5 minutes.  Serve with grated parmesan.

Serves 4

Recipe Notes

I buy The Fresh Market brand chicken stock for this recipe.  It is labeled gluten free.

I used two 15 ounce cans of cannellini beans and two cans of Great Northern beans.  You can use either variety of white beans in this recipe.

Other Recipes You Might Like



Creamy Corn & Potato Soup with Cotija Cheese -- The garnish of bacon, cotija cheese, fresh basil, and fresh corn takes this soup from good to incredible!



White Chicken Chili  -- This is definitely one of our top 10 favorite dinners.  The recipe makes enough for at least 4 meals for us, it freezes well, and everyone loves it!

Linked to: Gluten-Free Wednesdays 

Quick Cook Wedding Soup

This recipe was originally for a quick cook chicken soup, but last night, I added some onion, garlic, and meatballs, and transformed it into a wedding soup. 

When I want to make soup quickly, I buy a rotisserie chicken from Costco.  It's huge, it's juicy, it's cheap, and it's labeled gluten free, no MSG, no preservatives, and no added hormones or steroids. 

I used two of my favorite products from The Fresh Market to make this soup - chicken stock and  gluten free bread crumbs. 

I had to leave my meatballs out of the soup pot last night because my aunt does not eat cheese.  We made her a small batch with extra breadcrumbs and no Romano. 

The color of The Fresh Market Chicken Stock is a little more intense than the chicken broth I used to buy from Whole Foods, and it's a little more flavorful. 

Ingredients

1/2 large sweet onion - diced

1 1/2 tsp olive oil

2 cloves (1 tsp) garlic - minced

Three 32 ounce containers of gluten free chicken stock

Chicken from one large rotisserie chicken - cut into small pieces

A couple of handfuls of baby cut carrots

2 C rice (I use Lundberg Short Grain Brown Rice) - uncooked

1 recipe of gluten free mini meatballs (cooked)

10 ounces of fresh baby spinach - coarsely chopped

Kosher salt - to taste

Coarse ground black pepper - to taste (optional)

Romano or Parmesan cheese for garnish

Directions

In a large soup pot over medium heat, cook your onion in the olive oil until it starts to brown.  Add the garlic, stirring for a minute or two until it is lightly browned.  Add the chicken stock, chicken, carrots, and rice.  Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 1 hour.  When the rice is cooked, add the meatballs, spinach, and kosher salt.  Continue to cook the soup for about 5 more minutes until the spinach is wilted.  Garnish each bowl with Romano/Parmesan cheese. 

Last night, we ate our soup with Grandma's House Gluten Free Home Style Biscuits.  They arrived frozen in a pack of 6, and I baked them for 15 minutes in the oven. 

We were all really impressed by Grandma's House Biscuits.  The gluten eaters in my house, and my visiting relatives all loved them.  They are currently not available for purchase in Orlando, but you can check out their website here, and order them online.  

White Chicken Chili

My daughters beg me to make white chicken chili on a regular basis.  It's definitely one of their favorite dinners, and my husband and I love it too.  I suggested we use some pinto beans today, but my husband vetoed that decision, saying we shouldn't mess with perfection.  :-)

After church, we stopped in at The Fresh Market to pick up my new favorite chicken stock, chicken breasts, green chiles, corn, and cannellini beans. 

My husband used our kitchen shears to cut the chicken into small cubes.  It is so much easier than using a knife.  

We always buy a huge bag of silver queen frozen corn for this recipe.  I was glad to find some at The Fresh Market so we didn't have to make a second stop at Publix.

July 2014 Update  - I have started using three 10-ounce bags of Publix Organic Sweet Corn in this recipe to avoid genetically modified corn.  

While the chicken is cooking, I put the corn, chiles, and cannellini beans in a huge bowl so I can quickly add them to the pot when the chicken is done.   

Once all the ingredients are in the pot, you only need to cook the chili for about 20 minutes. 

I love to eat my white chicken chili with Organic Valley Fancy Shredded Mild Cheddar Cheese.  I serve it with very little broth. 

We love to make this meal on a Sunday so we have leftovers for dinner on Monday.  I was also able to put three containers of white chicken chili in the freezer.  Your broth should cover all the meat and vegetables in the containers you freeze any leftovers in.  

White Chicken Chili 

Ingredients

8 large chicken breast halves (about 5 pounds) - cut into small cubes
6 C gluten free chicken stock
1 T olive oil
3 C sweet onion (about 2 large onions) - diced
6 garlic cloves (3 teaspoons) - minced
6 (4 ounce) cans diced green chiles - undrained
6 cans cannellini beans - rinsed
2 pounds frozen corn
5 T fresh cilantro - chopped
2 T fresh basil - chopped
2 T ground cumin
1/2 T kosher salt
Shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
Tortilla chips
Optional -- sour cream, coarse ground black pepper, and additional kosher salt

Directions

In a very large soup pot over medium heat, cook the onion in olive oil until it begins to soften.  Add the garlic, stirring for a minute or two until the garlic begins to brown.  Add the chicken stock and chicken, turning your burner to medium high heat.

Cook your chicken for about 5 to 10 minutes before adding the green chiles, cannellini beans, corn, cilantro, basil, cumin, and salt.  Bring your chili to a light boil, then simmer on low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Serve with shredded cheese and tortilla chips.

Optional - serve with sour cream, coarse ground black pepper, and additional kosher salt

Serves 16

Recipe Notes

We like to eat our white chicken chili with Tostitos Simply Natural Blue Corn Tortilla Chips or Late July Organic Sea Salt Multigrain Snack Chips.  No sour cream for us!  

Queen's Three Bean Soup with Gluten Free Hard Cider Cranberry & Sage Bread

My daughters came up with the name for this soup because their grandmother gave me the recipe, and they call my mom Queen.....long story. Another suggestion was Queenie's 3 Beanie Soup.  :-)

After having lunch at the Epcot Food & Wine Festival, we stopped at The Fresh Market to pick up some ingredients for the soup.  My mom used cannellini, black, and red kidney beans when she made this soup.  I decided to use pinto beans instead of black beans, which are not my favorite in soups. 

I always used to buy peppercorns to grind my own pepper, but I love Tellicherry Coarse Grind Black Pepper from Penzeys Spices.  It's easier for measuring purposes, and provides me with a more consistent grind than my temperamental pepper mill.  In Orlando, there is a Penzeys Spices store in Winter Park. 

My mom told me that she used a cup of small bow tie pasta in her soup.  I decided to use the new BiAglut Fusilli I had purchased from amazon.  Knowing how much my daughters love pasta, I cooked two cups.  Next time, I might cook three.  My girls wanted more, of course.  

My mother cooked her pasta right in her soup.  I decided to cook mine separately and add it in at the end.  Even though BiAglut behaves like a wheat-filled pasta and doesn't need a cold rinse, I was hesitant to cook it in the soup. 

Here's a better look at Queen's Three Bean Soup before I added a good amount of grated Parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil. 

Queen's Three Bean Soup

Ingredients

1/2 large sweet onion -- diced

1 T olive oil

3 cloves of garlic -- minced

4 C (1 quart) gluten free chicken stock

1 can Cannellini Beans -- do not drain or rinse

1 can Pinto Beans -- rinsed

1 can dark red Kidney Beans -- rinsed

1 can San Marzano crushed tomatoes (14.5 ounces) or a 10 ounce bag of fresh San Marzano tomatoes (diced)

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp oregano 

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/4 tsp coarse ground black pepper

2 or 3 C of uncooked pasta

Grated Parmesan or Romano cheese -- to taste

Extra virgin olive oil for garnish

Directions

Cook the onion in your soup pot over medium heat in 1T of olive oil until it begins to soften.  Add the garlic, stirring constantly for a minute or two until it begins to brown.  Add your chicken stock, beans, tomatoes, salt, thyme, oregano, basil, and pepper.  Bring the soup to a boil over high heat, then turn your burner to low and put a lid on your pot.  Simmer for 20 minutes. 

While the soup is simmering, cook your pasta according to package directions.  

Before serving, add the pasta to the soup.  Garnish each bowl with grated Parmesan/Romano cheese and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.  

Serves 4 to 6

October 29, 2013 Update

My family liked this soup so much on Saturday, I decided to make it for dinner again tonight.  I needed a dinner that I could prepare ahead of time because of my daughters' after-school schedule.  When I made the soup the first time, I didn't know how long my mom cooked it for.  She later told me that she usually cooks it in the early afternoon for about 30 to 40 minutes, then lets it sit on the stove until dinner time, when she reheats it.  My mom feels that it is more flavorful this way.  If you are pressed for time, you really can prepare this soup in 30  minutes using my previous directions.  It's also a great make-ahead dinner. 

After reading a disturbing article about BPA and canned tomatoes, I decided to use fresh San Marzano tomatoes tonight.  I diced a 10 ounce bag of San Marzano tomatoes and was very happy with the results.  I also added a 1/2 tsp of dried basil.  I updated the recipe with these changes. 

Tonight, I took a picture of my soup loaded up with Parmesan.  Buy the good stuff!  I purchase my Parmesan and Romano from the cheese section in Whole Foods.  This time, I used about 3 1/2 cups of pasta.  It was the perfect amount for us.  I like a lot of "stuff" in my soup and not a lot of broth. 

My mom gave me a bottle of her favorite olive oil when we were in Hilton Head.  She always has my aunt bring her down a case from Pittsburgh.  It's from the ultimate Italian Store -- Penn Mac in the Strip District.  I finished my soup off with a drizzle of this very flavorful extra virgin olive oil.  It was amazing! 

November 10, 2013 Update -- 5 Bean Soup

Today,  I decided to make a larger quantity of soup because I had 1/2 a container of chicken stock left over from making White Chicken Chili last weekend.  I couldn't let that go to waste!  

I used 6 cups of chicken stock, 5 cans of beans (cannellini, Great Northern, black, pinto, and dark red kidney), one medium sweet onion, extra spices (about 1 1/2 times the amount called for in the original recipe), 4 cups of gluten free fusilli, 4 cloves of garlic (2 tsp minced garlic), and a bag and a half of fresh San Marzano tomatoes (15 ounces). My husband declared it to be his favorite soup, and my girls devoured it, only pausing occasionally to ask for more cheese.  :-)

Gluten Free Hard Cider Cranberry & Sage Bread

I love to make Gluten Free on a Shoestring's Herb Beer Bread.  I usually use fresh basil instead of oregano in the recipe because my daughters were not huge fans of the oregano.  Today, I decided to mix things up a bit. 

I used hard apple cider instead of gluten free beer.  Total Wine has a great selection of gluten free beers and ciders.  Most hard ciders in the store are marked gluten free. 

One of Nicole's readers talked about using hard cider and sage, and I thought that sounded like a great combination.  I also decided that in the spirit of fall, I wanted to add some dried cranberries.

Another little experiment -- I used my muffin pans instead of my ceramic bread pan.  It was easy to freeze the leftovers.  

After only 15 minutes in the oven, I had 12 little hard cider cranberry and sage breads. 

I thought I was going to have to listen to whining from my daughters about the cranberries, but with a little bit of butter, they gobbled them down without a complaint.  I will definitely be making this recipe again, both ways.

Products used -- I used Better Batter Gluten Free Flour, Crispin Hard Apple Cider, 1/2 C of certified gluten free sliced cranberries (chopped) from Nuts.com, and Raw Organic Whey from amazon.com.

I also used 3T of fresh sage (chopped) instead of the oregano called for in the recipe.