I kind of adopted an Italian family when I was a teenager. Actually, Audrey was Californian and Scandinavian, Mike was an Italian from Brooklyn, and they’d lived in some pretty exotic places along the way. Between the two of them, I learned a lot about cooking and a lot about family. Meals were often a two or three day affair, with soups looked forward to from the leftovers of whatever the big family meal was.  Pasta and beans, whether thick (fazule) or soup (fagioli) was always a treat.

The big debate for me on this soup, which goes together pretty quickly, was whether or not to add tomato. Some folks do, some folks don’t. It may be a north/south Italy thing. Not checking my pantry, I picked up two cans of diced tomatoes, but when it came down to it left them out. When I put them away I found I’d had more than I needed in stock.  Bottom line, tomato soup real soon. Meanwhile, this came out pretty well.

Pasta e Fagioli
yield: 1.5 gal (15 servings)

• Four cups of bow tie pasta cooked in three qts of water until al dente
• 2 cups of chopped onions
• 1.5 cups each diced carrots and celery
• Three cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp better than bullion chicken broth ( low sodium)
• 3 cans Goya cannelloni ( white kidney beans)
• 1/3 lb prosciutto in small strips 1/3 by 1/2
• 3 quarts water
• 1 tbsp oregano
• Grated Parmesan cheese for garnish

I cooked the pasta al dente (literally, to the teeth) on their own, drained them and put them aside. Cooking the pasta separately allowed me to control much I wanted it cooked, though I then went and added it too soon. You should try not to do that, but we’ll get back to that later.

I sauteed the onion and garlic and added the carrots and celery after eye soften up a bit. I added a tspn of oregano to the vegetables as they sauteed, gave them three minutes after adding the vegs. Then I slid them into three quarts of simmering water.

I added two tbsp of Better than Bullion Chicken Base to the stock, and this week I’m trying the low sodium version. Low sodium always sounds like old people’s food to me, but when you’re talking stock, it just means less salt. I have lots of salt, and I’m not afraid to use it…but the  prosciutto  is plenty salty, the canned beans have some salt, and it’s a whole lot easier to add more than take away too much.

I sauteed the prociutto for a few minutes, which may not have been a great idea, as I think it made it tougher. Into the stock and simmer for 15 min. Next time I’ll just add it after chopping.

Half the beans and all the pasta went in about then. The other half of the beans met their destiny at the business end of my hand blender and then added to the soup.

I added the other tspn of oregano and set the whole thing to simmer for 20 minutes.

That done, I gave it a stir, turned off the burner and let it meld until serving.

Garnish with grated Parmesan.

That was pretty easy…and pretty good. Audrey and Mike would have appreciated it.

Next time:

• Substitute thick sliced bacon for prosciutto, which will work just as well.
• Hold the pasta till the end and add just before turning off the burner.
• Garnish with Parmesan crostini and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil to make it a dish to entertain with