Pasta E Fagioli Harrys Bar Bean Soup With Noodles Recipes

"16 BEAN" PASTA E FAGIOLI

Steps:

• The day before you plan to make the soup, place the bean mix in a large bowl, add cold water to cover by 2 inches and refrigerate overnight. The next day, drain the beans, rinse under cold running water and drain again. Place the beans in a large pot with 8 cups of cold water. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 1 hour. Stir occasionally and skim off any foam that rises to the top. The beans should be very tender and the skin will peel away when you blow on a bean.
• Meanwhile, heat the oil in a medium (10-inch) stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the pancetta and onion and saute over medium to medium-high heat for 12 to 18 minutes, until browned. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and saute for one minute. Add the tomatoes, wine, 4 cups of the chicken stock, 1 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper and turn off the heat.
• Drain the beans and add two-thirds of them to the soup. Pass the remaining beans through a food mill, discarding the skins. Stir the bean puree and the pasta into the soup, bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is tender. Add up to 2 more cups chicken stock if the soup is too thick. Stir in the Parmesan and the vinegar. Ladle the soup into large shallow bowls and add a swirl of olive oil, a sprinkle of Parmesan and some basil. Serve hot with extra Parmesan on the side.

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 FAGIOLI

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook celery, onion, garlic, parsley, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, and salt in the hot oil until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in chicken broth, tomatoes and tomato sauce, and simmer on low for 15 to 20 minutes.
• Add pasta and cook 10 minutes, until pasta is tender.
• Add undrained beans and mix well. Heat through. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.