Columbus Day is a chance for all Italian-American families to celebrate their journey to America. And for many who ended up in Colorado, that trek included an ancestral stop in New York or New Jersey where this soup was a standard feature in checkered-tablecloth restaurants. Almost no one calls it pasta fazool anymore. It’s been upgraded by contemporary chefs to “Pasta Fagioli,” and now it’s served at the finest dining establishments. But tomorrow’s heritage day, bambino, so we’ll commemorate by taking the soup back to its East Coast roots and calling it what Grandma did.
Pasta Fazool
This recipe is patched together from memory, enhanced by several Google searches to figure out just what made it such a delicious childhood treat. So credit goes to a bunch of sources. The secret ingredient: cinnamon, which sounds so wrong, but tastes so right. Use fresh beans, soaked overnight, or canned beans and feel free to sub in navy beans or white beans. Whatever your bean choice, let the whole stew simmer for a few hours, adding or boiling off water until it matches the consistency you like.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 to 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 tomato, chopped
- 2 16-ounce cans cannellini beans
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 6 cups water
- 1 cup miniature shells or other small shaped pasta
Directions
Heat the oil in a large pot and sauté the garlic and onions until they are soft. Add the tomato and cook for one minute. Then pour in the water and chicken broth. Add the beans (with the liquid from the can or the soaking) and the cinnamon. Simmer for at least an hour, maybe two or three. Add the pasta during the last 30 minutes.
