Pasta e Fagioli
Just simmer a winner
Happy Monday, ladies and gentleman. I apologize for this week’s (last week’s?) dispatch coming to you late, but I got caught up in the hustle and bustle of a Friday. And who has time for writing newsletters on the weekend? So here we are, Monday morning, thinking about food and hoping that you didn’t starve over the weekend.
As the weather is getting cooler, the CWD household is shifting gears from outdoor cooking and quick meals, to the cozy indoors and long cooks. One of the best of these, pasta e fagioli, we’ll talk about today. But first, let me make an practical comment. You’ll notice we cook with a lot of parm cheese here. I’m of the mind you should always buy the best ingredients you can find an afford, so we get the “real” stuff, sold in hunks, with the rind on. Nothing pre-shredded or grated. When we get down to the bitter end, we save the rinds and throw them in the freezer. Why? Primarily so we can make this.
Anyway, this recipe generally comes from Bon Appetit, but over time I’ve made a few changes, primarily in the cook time. If you want step-by-step instructions, find them here, otherwise, let’s wing it. This should last you a few days and gets better with age.
In decently small pieces, dice up an onion, a few carrots, a stalk or two of celery, and a bunch of garlic. Throw them in a large pot with a few slugs of olive oil, and cook gently until the veggies are soft, but not browning. Add in one or two smoked ham hocks (Whole Foods sells these in the meat freezer, don’t worry about defrosting them) and cook everything over a little higher heat until the veggies and ham starts to brown.
Into the mix, add maybe four cans of cannellini beans and two cans of whole tomatoes (plus their liquid). Bring the whole thing to a boil, then reduce and add 4-6 parm rinds (fewer is fine, too, I guess). Let this simmer for 3-4 hours, remove the parm rinds, and keep simmering for another few hours. About an hour before you’re ready to eat, take out the ham hocks and strip the meat, putting that back in and tossing the bones. Chop some kale, and mix that in. Serve with some small pastas and plenty of parm.
There ya go. Enjoy!