Pasta Fagioli

                                                                               

There was a time when I used to often make pasta for my kids...for their lunch boxes, evening snack. Now, with kids living away from home I  make pasta to please myself!!  At times I savour familiar recipes and at other times I try new ones.

This is the pasta recipe I made the other day....Pasta Fagioli. It is a recipe I have tried just once or twice, so the newness has not worn off  while it still has the comfort and enjoyment of a known taste.

 Pasta Fagioli basically means pasta cooked with beans. It is a very simple but hearty dish that combines the goodness of beans and vegetables with pasta in a tomato based sauce.

Ingredients: 

1/2 cup any small pasta
1/2 can baked beans
1 onion
1 tsp garlic
1/2 cup tomato puree
1 cup water
1 tsp herbs of choice
1/2 cup mix veggies ( carrot, capsicum, celery, french beans)
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp red chilly flakes
1/2 tsp black pepper powder
Salt to taste
2 tbsp parmesan cheese

Method:   Boil the pasta in plenty of salted water. Remove from heat when pasta is al dente ( not too soft; still firm) and drain water. Refresh in running water and keep aside.  Chop veggies and blanch carrot, french beans.  Finely chop onion and garlic.

In a non stick or heavy bottom pan put olive oil and add the onion. When it is translucent add garlic. Add veggies and stir for a minute. Add tomato puree and seasonings- salt, pepper and chilly flakes. When the mixture starts drying out add warm water, the baked beans and pasta. Cover and cook on slow flame for few minutes. Sprinkle herbs, parmesan cheese and close.

This pasta is a mix between a pasta and soup. It should be light and runny. If you want you can use regular beans instead of baked beans...but then you need to soak them overnight and then boil till tender. Also, you could mash some of the cooked beans to thicken the pasta. You can even add two types of beans. I used oregano and basil but you can substitute these for other herbs like rosemary, parsley etc. Although I used plain warm water for this recipe, you can add chicken or vegetable stock or soup cube. If using tomato paste instead of puree, use just 2 or 3 tbsp and add  few tbsp of water to dilute the paste.