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| The finished product, a fine plated bowl of the mighty Pasta Fagioli |
Pasta Fagioli, a simple but nuanced Italian soup must be mastered from experience, not rote recipe recitation. It all starts with beans. Typically white beans such as cannellini, or any of the small white beans in that category like great northern, navy, etc. Start w/ dry beans and soak overnight in cool water. The next day rinse well, change the water for fresh clean water and add your flavorings.
This time, I've gone grand and added a whole lotta flavor. Bay leaves, rosemary, sage, miso of course, kombu seaweed and a splash of Madiera. Cover and bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer until nicely tender, about an hour or so.
You'll want a nice full pot of onions as they cook down. We'll sweat the onions for this soup, meaning adding salt in the beginning. This is not a soup for caramelized onions. More bay leaves, sea salt, black pepper, evoo and dry vermouth.
Next there's the celery. Organic celery has so much more flavor and such a vibrant crunch, chose to use it whenever you are able. I've added a little matcha green tea and more miso, a little sake and some water. I like the celery crisp tender, but you can cook it longer if you prefer it soft. This is not a soup for those that don't like celery, but if you just hate celery, make it anyway. Find something you like to substitute. I won't be traditional, but all my Japanese additions have already strayed from tradition as it is. Innovation in the kitchen is the way to go. Fennel would be a good substitute for the celery, as would leeks or maybe parsnips.
When the beans are done, fish out the tough large herbs and get ready to combine everything into one large pot.
Into the beans, go the onions. The kombu kelp has nicely disintegrated adding flavor and body and nutrition to our soup base.
Next add the tomatoes to the celery mix. I like whole tomatoes hand crushed and some crushed tomatoes too. Bring everything to a simmer. Some cook the pasta in the soup. I don't, since as you can see, when I make pasta fagioli I make a LOT. And I don't want the pasta to linger in the left overs. I cook the pasta separately, reserving a bit of the pasta water to add to the soup and then add the pasta to the soup as I serve up each bowl to keep the texture spot on. Typically small pasta such as the ditalini (thimbles) shown below are used. But macaroni, alphabet (to encourage the kids) or even cavatappi would be fun.
And there you have it! Garnish w/ fresh basil and shavings of Parmesan and dive right in. Watch Chefs Mark Cleveland and Tanya Fuqua make this scrumptious Pasta Fagioli Soup w/ filmmaker Ryan Adams on Vimeo and on the Avanti Natural YouTube Channel.
"The smell of a good pasta fagioli can make me cry!" Sophia Loren
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