Italian Pasta Stew Recipes

PASTA E FAGIOLI (ITALIAN PASTA AND BEANS)

Steps:

• In a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat, warm 3 tablespoons of the olive oil until shimmering. Add the chopped onion, carrot, celery, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and about 10 twists of black pepper. Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables have softened and the onions are turning translucent, about 6 to 10 minutes.
• Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, stir, and cook until the tomatoes are bubbling all over. Add the broth, water, bay leaves, oregano, and red pepper flakes.
• Raise the heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, and reducing the heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer.
• Use a heat-safe measuring cup to transfer about 1 1/2 cups of the soup (avoiding the bay leaves) to a blender. Add about 3/4 cup of the drained beans. Securely fasten the lid and blend until completely smooth, being careful to avoid hot steam escaping from the lid. Pour the blended mixture back into the soup.
• Add the remaining beans, pasta, kale and parsley to the simmering soup. Continue cooking, stirring often to prevent the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pot, for about 20 minutes, or until the pasta and greens are pleasantly tender.
• Remove the pot from the heat, then remove and discard the bay leaves. Stir in the lemon juice, the remaining tablespoon of olive oil, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Taste and season with more salt (I usually add another 1/4 teaspoon) and pepper until the flavors really sing. Garnish bowls of soup as desired, and serve.
• Leftovers taste even better the next day. Allow leftover soup to cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate for up to 5 days. Or, freeze leftover soup in individual portions and defrost as necessary.

PEASANT PASTA STEW

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven or soup kettle, combine the broth, celery, carrots and onion. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5-7 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Stir in the V8 juice, tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, pepper and garlic powder. Cover and simmer for 40-45 minutes., Meanwhile, in a skillet, cook pork over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Add meat and beans to soup; cover and simmer 30-45 minutes longer or until heated through. Stir in pasta just before serving. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

EASY ITALIAN STEW

Steps:

• Heat dressing in large saucepan on medium heat. Add sausage; cook 8 to 10 min. or until done, stirring occasionally to break into small pieces. Drain.
• Add broth, stir-fry vegetables, beans and tomatoes; bring to boil. Stir in macaroni; simmer on medium heat 8 to 10 min. or until macaroni is tender, stirring occasionally.
• Top with cheese.

ITALIAN PASTA-BEAN STEW

Steps:

• In 3-quart saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add bell peppers, onion, zucchini and pepper flakes; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender. Add tomatoes and broth. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover; simmer 20 minutes.
• Using fork, break up larger pieces of tomato. Stir in pasta. Cover; cook 12 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Stir in beans, spinach, basil, vinegar and salt. Cover; let stand 2 minutes. Sprinkle individual servings with Asiago cheese.

BEEF STEW WITH PASTA

Steps:

• In a 7-qt. Dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat; brown half the beef. Remove from pan. Repeat with additional oil and remaining beef., In same pan, saute carrots and onion in remaining oil until onion is tender, 2-3 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, pepper, broth, beef and, if desired, parsley; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, 1-1/2 hours., Stir in potatoes, beans and cheese; bring to a boil. Stir in pasta. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, until beef and vegetables are tender, 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in spinach until wilted.

HOMEMADE ITALIAN STEW

Steps:

• In a large nonstick saucepan coated with cooking spray, cook the sausage, onion, green pepper and garlic until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, mushrooms, water, broth and wine or additional broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1 hour. Add pasta; heat through. Top each serving with 1 tablespoon cheese.

ITALIAN PORK STEW

Steps:

• Place flour in a shallow dish. Add pork, a few pieces at a time, and turn to coat. In a Dutch oven, brown pork in 3 tablespoons oil in batches. Remove and keep warm., In the same pan, saute onion in remaining oil until crisp-tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in the tomatoes, wine, bay leaves, cinnamon, tomato paste, vinegar, anchovy paste, herbs, salt, pepper flakes, pepper and pork; bring to a boil., Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1-1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Stir in parsley. Cover and cook 30-40 minutes longer or until meat is tender. Skim fat; discard bay leaves and cinnamon stick., Serve with pasta; sprinkle with cheese. Freeze option: Place individual portions of cooled stew in freezer containers and freeze. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Heat through in a saucepan, stirring occasionally; add water if necessary.

NORTHERN ITALIAN BEEF STEW

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook beef in batches in hot oil until browned completely, about 5 minutes per batch. Remove browned beef cubes to a plate lined with paper towels, keeping skillet over heat and retaining the beef drippings.
• Cook and stir onion, celery, and carrots in the retained beef drippings until just softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir mushrooms and garlic into the onion mixture.
• Pour red wine into the pan; bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits of food off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Continue cooking the mixture until the wine evaporates, 7 to 10 minutes. Stir tomatoes into the mixture.
• Return beef to skillet with potatoes, basil, thyme, marjoram, and sage. Pour beef stock and tomato sauce over the mixture. Bring the liquid to a simmer.
• Reduce heat to low and simmer until the beef is very tender and the sauce is thick, 4 to 6 hours.