New York Fire Station Pasta E Fagioli Recipes

PASTA E FAGIOLI

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Cook the celery, carrots, onion and garlic until they're tender.
• Stir the broth, Italian seasoning and tomatoes in the skillet. Heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes or until the vegetables are tender-crisp.
• Add the pasta and beans and cook for 5 minutes.
• Place half of the broth mixture into a blender or food processor. Cover and blend until smooth. Pour the pureed mixture into the skillet. Cook over medium heat until the mixture is hot.

PASTA E FAGIOLI "HARRY'S BAR" (BEAN SOUP WITH NOODLES)

Steps:

• Sort, rinse and soak the beans overnight in enough water to cover them by two inches. Alternatively, quick-soak the beans by boiling them for 5 minutes in the same amount of water. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for an hour.
• Heat the olive oil in a skillet and saute the garlic until it is golden brown. Remove the garlic with a slotted spoon. Add the chopped onion to the oil and saute gently until soft but not browned. Add the chopped tomato and rosemary and cook gently for 2 minutes.
• Drain the beans and put them into a large, heavy pot together with the sauteed ingredients. Add 5 cups of water and 5 cups of stock and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat until the liquid barely simmers, using a metal heat dispersion plate if necessary. Cook for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally, or until the beans are tender but not mushy.
• Strain the cooked beans, reserving the liquid. Puree half the beans in a food processor or grind them through the finest disk of a food mill.
• Return the pureed beans and 2 1/2 cups of cooking liquid to the pot and stir to combine. Add the cooked whole beans and correct the seasonings, adding salt and pepper if desired. Cover the pot and adjust the heat so the soup barely simmers.
• Cook the noodles in rapidly boiling water until barely tender. Drain.
• Divide the noodles among the individual soup bowls, reserving half if second helpings are to be served. Ladle the hot soup over the noodles and serve at once.

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 FAGIOLI

Steps:

• To make the soup, heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion, carrot and celery and saute over medium heat until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the beans, 1 quart of broth and the water. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer until the beans are soft, about 1 1/2 hours. Add 2 quarts of broth and season with the salt and pepper. Bring the soup to a boil, add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes. Reheat before serving, adding more broth, if needed. Stir in the parsley and additional salt, if needed.
• To make the condiments, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toss together the arugula, tomatoes, 2 teaspoons of olive oil, vinegar and salt. Set aside.
• Brush the bread rounds with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, sprinkle with Parmesan, place on a baking sheet and bake until the cheese is melted, about 5 minutes. Pile on a plate. Place the arugula salad, peppers, pine nuts and olives in separate bowls.
• Ladle the soup into 6 bowls. Serve, passing the condiments, including the basil oil, separately.

PASTA E FAGIOLI

Steps:

• Soak the Borlotti beans in water to cover overnight.
• Heat the olive oil and cook the prosciutto ends for five minutes. Add the onion, garlic, celery and carrot and cook for 10 minutes.
• Add the tomatoes with their juice, the beans and the stock. Bring to boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 25 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and continue cooking until the beans are soft (about 20 more minutes).
• In a food processor, puree half the beans with some of their cooking liquid and return puree to the saucepan. Check density of the soup and add stock if it is too thick.
• Meanwhile, in a separate pan, cook the penne in boiling salted water until it is barely al dente. Drain it and add it to the soup. Correct the seasoning.
• Serve the soup in individual heated bowls with a helping of extra-virgin olive oil swirled into each portion, along with a handful of chopped greens. Pass the Parmesan cheese separately.

PASTA E FAGIOLI

Steps:

• Cover the beans with water, and add the baking soda, half the celery stalk and the bay leaf. Soak them for 24 hours.
• Drain and rinse well. Place in a pot and add cold water to two inches above the beans. Add the rest of the celery, the onion, tomatoes, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the beans are tender, about 1 hour 20 minutes.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, drain the beans, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Discard the celery, onion, and bay leaf. In a soup pot over low heat, sauté the garlic in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil for 1 minute, add 2 tablespoons parsley, and continue to sauté until garlic is light brown, 1 or 2 more minutes. Add the beans and 1/2 cup of their cooking liquid, mashing a few beans with a fork to give the soup body. Bring to a simmer.
• When the water has reached a boil, add the pasta and cook for half the time called for on the package. Drain the pasta and add it to the beans, reserving the cooking water. Raise the heat under the soup pot to medium and cook until the pasta is al dente, adding enough reserved pasta water or bean cooking liquid to make a thick broth.
• Ladle into bowls, garnish with parsley and pepper, and drizzle with remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Serve immediately or the pasta will absorb the broth.