Lidia Bastianich Pasta Fagioli Recipes

PASTA WITH LENTILS (PASTA CON LENTICCHE) - LIDIA BASTIANICH

Steps:

• Place lentils in a large pot. Add enough water to just cover. Add celery, carrot, onion and bay, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook 20 minutes, until lentils are tender.
• Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to the boil.
• Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and saute until it just begins to turn golden. Add the lentils (vegetables, liquid and all) and tomatoes, salt and red pepper flake. If it seems thick, add a splash of water from the pasta pot. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook until reduced by about a third, 10-15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, add the rigatoni to the boiling water and cook until ALMOST al dente. Drain the pasta and add to the lentils to finish cooking for the last 1-2 minutes. Finish with a drizzle of raw olive oil and garnish with chopped parsley.

PASTA E FAGIOLI

Steps:

• Make the simmered beans as directed, changing only the amount of beans (use 2 quarts water). Remove onion and bay leaf, using tongs or a slotted spoon, as directed. Place a strainer over a bowl and drain beans. Measure broth and top up with enough water to make 6 cups.
• Heat oil over medium heat in a large, heavy casserole or Dutch oven and add chopped onion. Cook, stirring, until just tender, about 5 minutes. Add rosemary and garlic and stir together for another minute, until garlic is fragrant. Stir in tomatoes, add sugar, salt and pepper, and cook, stirring often, until tomatoes have cooked down and the mixture is very fragrant, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Add broth from the beans, tomato paste, hot pepper, bouquet garni, and salt to taste and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 30 minutes. Stir in beans and heat through. Taste and adjust salt.
• 10 to 15 minutes before serving, stir in pasta. When it is cooked al dente, taste and adjust seasonings, stir in parsley, and serve, passing Parmesan in a bowl.

PASTA AND BEANS (PASTA E FAGIOLI)

Steps:

• Cold soak or quick soak the beans: Cold soak-dump beans into a 2-3 quart container; pour in enough water to cover by at least 4 inches; let soak in a cool place at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours; drain thoroughly. Quick soak-place beans in a large saucepan, covering them generously with cold water; bring to a boil; boil 1 minute before removing from heat; let stand uncovered 1 hour; then drain.
• Pour 6 quarts water into a tall, large (at least 10 quart) pot.
• Add the drained beans, potatoes, rosemary, and bay leaves.
• Bring to a rolling boil over high heat, then adjust the heat to a gentle boil; let boil while preparing the sauteed vegetables, about 25 minutes.
• Process the bacon and garlic to a paste in the food processor, stopping once or twice to scrape down the sides of the work bowl.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
• Scrape in the bacon-garlic paste and cook, stirring, until golden, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in the onion and cook, stirring, until translucent, about 4 minutes.
• Stir in the carrots and cook until the onion begins to brown, about 5 minutes.
• Add the crushed tomatoes, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Pour two ladlefuls of the bean cooking water into the skillet and bring to a boil, then pour the contents of the skillet into the soup pot.
• Season lightly with salt and pepper and bring to a slow boil.
• Cook until the beans are tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour after adding the vegetables from the skillet.
• Ladle about 1/3 of the beans along with enough cooking liquid to cover them, into a baking dish or other shallow container where they will cool quickly.
• Cool the beans until they are no longer steaming; process the beans and liquid in a food processor or blender until creamy; return the pureed beans to the pot.
• Fish out the potatoes onto a plate; mash them coarsely with a fork and return them to the pot.
• Cook 10 minutes to give the flavors a chance to blend.
• Let the soup rest off the heat, covered, 10-15 minutes.
• While the soup is resting, cook the ditalini in salted water until very al dente (cook all the pasta if serving the full recipe of soup, or a proportionate amount if you are setting some of the soup aside for later).
• Drain thoroughly and stir into the soup; let all rest 5 minutes, then serve in warm soup bowls, with a drizzle of oil and a sprinkle of Parmigiano-Reggiano.