Pasta e Fagioli

Pasta e fagioli. Pasta and beans. We all know the rhyme about beans and what they're good for. But while we tend to remember the second part of the rhyme, we often forget the part about them being “good for your heart.” Beans are naturally low in fat and high in fiber, iron and protein. And they're filling, delicious and easy on the wallet.

This time of year, I can't imagine anything much more comforting that a bowl of beans and pasta. This pasta e fagioli recipe is a little unusual. I think. Not being an Italian grandma, I can’t say this with absolute certainty. But in my (limited) experience, pasta e fagioli is a brothy soup with beans and pasta.

This recipe calls for pureeing half of the beans, which results in a thick, almost stew-like texture with whole beans and pasta mixed throughout. I prefer this texture, particularly in the midst of a Polar Vortex. In the spring or fall, I'd probably leave all of the beans whole, and make this more of a soup. You can also go for a texture that's somewhere in between by adding more broth or pureeing a smaller portion of the beans.

Soak the beans overnight.

The next day, transfer them to a large pot with onion, bay leaf and garlic cloves.

Simmer until tender.

In the meantime, cook bacon in a large saucepan, then remove.

In the same saucepan, lightly brown onion, carrot and celery.

Add thyme and saute for another minute.

Add half of the cooked beans.

Then the chicken broth.

And the diced tomato.

Puree (or mash) the remaining beans with their cooking liquid.

Add the pureed beans to the tomato/bean mixture in the saucepan, along with the pasta.

Give everything a good stir and cook until the pasta is tender.

Stir in the bacon and serve with a drizzle of olive oil.

Pasta e Fagioli 

Recipe slightly adapted from De Lallo

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 lb dried cranberry beans

4 slices bacon, cut into small pieces

2 onions, 1 halved and 1 chopped

2 bay leaves

2 cloves garlic

1 carrot, finely chopped

1 celery stalk, finely chopped

1 sprig fresh thyme

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes

8 oz ditalini or other short pasta

Salt and pepper

1.    Rinse and soak dried beans in a large bowl of water overnight.

2.    The next day, drain and rinse the beans again, then transfer to a big pot and add enough cold, unsalted water to cover the beans by 3 to 4 inches. Add one onion, cut in half, one or two bay leaves, and a couple of cloves of garlic, and bring to a boil. Cook briskly for 10 minutes, removing the foam that comes to the top. Reduce the heat and cook the beans gently, uncovered until they are tender. This will take about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

3.    In a large saucepan, heat bacon until it is cooked and renders its fat. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside.

4.    Wipe the pan with a paper towel and heat olive oil over a medium flame. Sauté onion, carrot and celery, until vegetables begin to brown. Add thyme spring and saute for a minute.

5.    Add half of the drained, cooked beans to the saucepan, maintaining a low heat on the remaining beans. Add a generous amount of salt and pepper to the saucepan, and cook on a high flame. Add the chicken broth. Next, add the canned peeled tomatoes and stir continuously.

6.    Purée or mash the remaining half of the beans and cooking liquid in the big pot. Add the mashed beans to the soup.

7.    Add the ditalini pasta to the boiling soup. Turn down the heat and simmer until the pasta is cooked. (If needed, add more chicken broth. You may have to cook the pasta longer than the cooking time on the box.)

8.      Once pasta is cooked, stir in the bacon. Cook for another few minutes. The soup will be thick.

9.      When you are ready to serve the soup, top with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Note: You can easily make this soup vegetarian. Just omit the bacon and substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth.

Serves 8

Baked Orzo with Eggplant and Tomatoes

If your holidays are anything like mine, then the next week or two will be a study in decadence. There will be rich, roasted meats, hearty sides, and of course, lots and lots of cookies. Christmas only comes once a year, and I don't intend to shy away from its culinary celebrations.

But that means eating sensibly in the weeks before and after the holidays. With snow on the ground and temperatures already plummeting into the 20s, though, it's just too cold to pick at a bowl of lettuce.

What's a girl to do? One solution is to go heavy on the veggies. Mixed with just enough pasta and cheese to satisfy the entire family. 

This dish features eggplant, cooked until silky and tender. And tomatoes, warm and bursting with juice. It's a great way to feel virtuous while treating your tastebuds.

Peel and chop the eggplant. Sprinkle with salt and let it drain over a colander for 30 minutes.

Rinse well and pat dry.

Saute eggplant in olive oil until golden brown (dark in some spots). Remove will a slotted spoon and set aside.

Cook carrots and celery in the same pan.

Add onion and garlic and cook until everything is golden and tender.

Turn off the heat and add back the cooked eggplant.

Then add the orzo and tomato paste. Cook for 2 minutes.

Add tomatoes, thyme, lemon zest, salt, black pepper and stock to the pan.

Finally, add the cheeses and give it a good stir.

Transfer to an oven-safe baking dish.

Bake until pasta is cooked and liquid is absorbed.

Baked Orzo with Eggplant and Tomatoes

Adapted from a recipe by Yotom Ottolenghi

1 large eggplant, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch dice

1/4 cup olive oil

1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice

1 celery stalk, in a 1/4-inch dice

1 medium onion, finely diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

8 ounces orzo, rinsed

1 tsp tomato paste

1 1/2 cups vegetable stock

1 Tbsp fresh thyme

1 tsp grated lemon zest

3 medium tomatoes, diced

4 ounces firm mozzarella, cut into 1/3-inch dice
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Salt and black pepper

1.    Sprinkle eggplant generously with salt and let it drain in a colander for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, rinse it well and pat it dry.

2.    Preheat oven to 350°F.

3.    Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the oil. Once the oil is shimmering, add the eggplant. Fry for 8 minutes, stirring pieces occasionally, until golden brown and dark in some spots. Remove with a slotted spoon.

4.    Add celery and carrots to frying pan and cook for 3 minutes. Then add onion and garlic. Cook together for 5 more minutes on medium heat.

5.    Stir in the orzo and tomato paste and cook for two minutes more.

6.    Off the heat, add the thyme, tomatoes, fried eggplant, lemon zest, salt, black pepper and vegetable stock. Finally, add the cheeses. Mix well.

7.    Transfer mixture to 1 2-quart ovenproof baking dish. Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes, then bake 20 minutes without the foil. (You may need to bake it a bit longer until the pasta is cooked and all of the liquid is absorbed.)

8.    Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Serves 4

Chicken Piccata Pasta

I love the flavors of chicken piccata. As far as I'm concerned, the chicken is an afterthought. It's the sauce I'm after. Rich with garlic and shallots, bright with lemon juice and capers.

capers

Capers are the edible flower buds of the caper bush. When you bite into a caper, it releases a little burst of salty, pickle-flavored juice. The flavor of capers is the defining flavor of chicken piccata.

In addition to piccata dishes, you'll find capers in pasta puttanesca, remoulades and vinaigrettes. You might recognize them as the dark green, pea-size spheres you see next to the lox and cream cheese on a bagel spread. 

Traditionally, chicken piccata is served as a breaded cutlet topped with its defining lemon-caper sauce, and served on a bed of pasta.

This variation takes the essential components and turns them into a one-pot meal. It's lighter because rather than dipping the chicken in an egg wash and breadcrumbs, it's just lightly dusted with a bit of flour. I used mini penne, my son's current favorite pasta shape. But use any short pasta you like.

Gather your ingredients.

Set pasta to boil.

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Toss lightly with flour.

Lightly brown chicken in hot butter/oil mixture. Remove chicken and set aside.

Add shallots (I used sliced red onion, but will use chopped shallots next time), garlic and thyme to the same pan. Cook until shallots are tender.

 Add flour, stir to coat shallot mixture, and cook for a minute or two until the flour is golden brown.

Whisk in lemon juice and chicken stock. Let simmer for a couple of minutes until the sauce thickens slightly.

Add the capers...

Chicken...

And pasta. 

Serve warm.

Chicken Piccata Pasta

Minimally adapted from A Spicy Perspective

1 lb chicken thighs, cut into bite size pieces (you can also use breasts or tenders)

1 lb pasta

4 Tbsp flour, divided

2 Tbsp butter

3 Tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 shallot, finely chopped

2 tsp fresh thyme leaves

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

3/4 cup chicken stock

3 ounces capers, drained

Salt

Pepper

1.    Place a large pot of salted water over high heat and bring to a boil.

2.    Meanwhile, salt and pepper the chicken liberally and toss with 2 tablespoons of the flour.

3.    Place a large skillet over medium heat. Add butter and oil.

4.    Drop the pasta in the boiling water and cook as instructed on the package then drain.

5.    Once the butter is melted, place the chicken pieces in butter/oil mixture and saute for 2-3 minutes per side until golden brown and just cooked through. Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels to dry.

6.    Add the garlic, shallots and thyme to the same pan and saute for few minutes, until the shallots are tender. Whisk in the remaining 2 tablespoons flour until it turns a light golden brown. sauce.

7.    Then whisk in the lemon juice and chicken stock.

8.    Once the sauce is simmering again, toss in the capers and chicken. Mix in the pasta and serve warm.

Serves 6.

Potato Gnocchi with Simple Tomato Sauce

  

Todd, who is The Daring Kitchen’s AWESOME webmaster and an amazing cook, is our September Daring Cooks’ host! Todd challenged us to make light and fluffy potato Gnocchi and encouraged us to flavor the lil pillows of goodness and go wild with a sauce to top them with!

I never thought I’d make homemade potato gnocchi. Made properly, gnocchi are soft and pillowy, light as air. But I’d eaten enough gummy, heavy, dense, leaden gnocchi in restaurants to know how bad gnocchi can be.

I’d also heard — from cooking shows, food magazines, even Mario Batali — that homemade gnocchi was not for the faint of heart. Choose the right potatoes! Don’t add to much flour! Don’t overhandle the dough! I figured this was something best left to Italian nonnas.

And then Daring Cooks came and threw down the challenge. Game on.

It turns out gnocchi aren’t all that hard to make. It might have been beginner’s luck. Or that the recipe provided by this month’s Daring Cooks’ host was foolproof.

In any case, the gnocchi turned out light and pillowy. I topped them with a simple, homemade tomato sauce and thinly sliced mozzarella, then threw the mixture under a broiler. I’m no Italian grandma, but I’m pretty sure the word “delizioso” escaped my lips when I took my first bite.

Bake two starchy potatoes until tender, then scoop out the flesh.

Pass through a ricer or food mill.

Place the potatoes on a floured surface. Add flour and egg.

Gently knead the flour and egg into the potato until a dough just comes together.

Take part of the dough and roll it into a 1/2 inch thick rope.

Cut the rope into small pieces. Score the gnocchi with a fork or gnocchi board if you have one.

Put the gnocchi on a parchment-lined baking sheet while you prepare the rest of the gnocchi.

Place a few gnocchi at a time into boiling water. When they're cooked, they'll rise to the top (give them an extra minute after the come to the top).

Remove gnocchi from the water and place in a bowl until all the gnocchi are cooked.

Now the sauce, which is quick, easy and tasty. Place unpeeled, whole tomatoes in a blender or food processor.

Puree until they reach a consistency you like.

Heat olive oil. Add garlic and cook until light golden brown.

Add pureed tomatoes, salt and sugar. I still have some basil growing in my backyard, so I added a few basil leaves too. Simmer until flavors meld and sauce thickens slightly.

Once the sauce is ready and the gnocchi are cooked, place some gnocchi in an individual serving bowl. Top with sauce.

And mozzarella cheese.

Pop under the broiler for a minute or two until the cheese melts.

Enjoy!

Potato Gnocchi with Simple Tomato Sauce

Potato Gnocchi:

Recipe from A Cooking Dad

1½ pounds starchy potatoes (Russet or Idaho work well)
Salt

Pepper
½ to ¾ cup all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
1 large egg (optional)

1.    Heat the oven to 400°F and bake potatoes until tender, about an hour (mine took 1 1/2 hours to get tender). You can also boil the potatoes with their skins on. When potatoes are cooked split the potatoes open to allow steam to escape. When potatoes are cool enough to handle, scoop out their flesh.

2.    Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

3.    Pass the potatoes through a ricer or food mill, on a medium setting. If you do not have a ricer or mill you can use a masher but try not to “work” the potatoes too much as this will cause the gnocchi to be tougher.

4.    Place the potatoes on a well-floured surface and form a well in the potatoes. Put ¼ cup flour and the egg (if using) in the potatoes. Gently knead the potato, adding the additional flour if needed, just until the dough comes together.

5.    Pinch off a small piece of the dough and try cooking it in the boiling water to see if it holds together. If it does not add a little more flour and try again.

6.    Roll some of the dough into a ½ inch thick rope, then cut the rope into ½ inch pieces.

7.    Score each piece with a fork or gnocchi board.

8.    Put the pieces onto a parchment lined baking sheet until ready to cook.

9.    Add the gnocchi to the boiling water in small batches. After they rise to the surface let them cook another 60 seconds and remove them with a slotted spoon.

Serves 3

Quick Pomodoro Sauce:

Recipe slightly adapted from Bon Appetit

1 28 ounce can whole peeled tomatoes

1/2 cup olive oil (This was way too much. Next time I will only use 1/4 cup.)

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1/4 tsp sugar

Kosher salt

Fresh basil leaves (optional)

1.    Pulse tomatoes with juices in a blender or food processor to form a coarse puree.

2.    Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring often, until beginning to brown, about 2 minutes.

3.    Add tomato puree and sugar and basil (if using). Season with salt and basil. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer gently until sauce is slightly thickened, 10 to 15 minutes.

Makes 3 cups.