The recipe for pasta e fagioli (pasta and beans) is a classic of Italian peasant cuisine.
In its more rustic version it is flavored with pork rinds.
A poor and cheap dish, therefore, but always extremely tasty and genuine…
Just perfect for a winter day!
Dense enough to “hold the spoon upright” (the most traditionalists say this is the way
to recognize the right consistency, creamy and full-bodied at the same time)
A timeless Italian comfort food that warms the heart and makes everyone agree thanks to its
timeless flavor, to be tried also in the summer version with fresh legumes. Taste our pasta
and beans and you will see that you will never leave it!
Ingredients:
Your favorite pasta: (mine is DeCeccho) 1 Lb.
Beans: 8 Oz.
Tomato sauce: 8 Oz.
Lard: 3oz
Parma Ham: 3 Oz.
Onions: 2 Oz.
Celery: 2 Oz
Carrots: 2 Oz.
Garlic: 1 clove
Rosemary: 3 twigs
Laurel: 2 leaves
Extra vergin olive oil: 1 spon
Black pepper: just enough
Salt: just enough
To prepare the pasta and beans, firstly leave the dried beans to soak overnight.
The next day rinse them, transfer them to a pot, cover them with plenty of cold water,
add 2 bay leaves and boil them for about 80 minutes.
In the meantime, prepare the other ingredients for the recipe:
clean and finely chop the onion, celery and carrot, then cut the ham and the lard into strips.
Heat the oil in a saucepan, add a peeled garlic clove and chopped vegetables;
let fry for about 5 minutes, then add the strips of ham and lard and cook again
for a couple of minutes. Take the beans with a slotted spoon and add them to the sauté.
then add a ladle of their cooking water: keep the rest of the cooking water because you will
need it later. Now also pour the tomato puree 11 into the pan, salt in moderation, pepper
and cook for 20 minutes on a moderate flame, after which you can add the pasta.
Before adding the pasta, take two ladles from the mixture and pour them into a container,
then blend them with an immersion blender 12 and set aside the cream obtained.
Add the ditaloni rigati directly in pot, cover with the cooking water of the beans and cook
the pasta stirring occasionally, always over moderate heat.
When the pasta is al dente, add the previously blended mixture and the chopped rosemary,
then turn off the heat, cover with the lid and leave to rest for 3 minutes.
One last sprinkling of black pepper and your pasta and beans are ready to be served!