Pasta e Fagioli con Salcicce

WannaBChef's Pasta e Fagioli con Salcicce

I decided to make my own version of this classic Italian dish…and since Steve doesn’t like soups that are too brothy, I pureed some of the beans and cooked the pasta right in the soup – which helped thicken it up!

• Olive Oil
• 1 lb. Bulk Hot Italian Sausage
• 1 medium Yellow Onion, diced
• 4 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp. Crushed Red Chile Flakes
• 1 Tbsp. fresh Rosemary, minced
• 1 Tbsp. fresh Thyme
• 2 cans White Cannelini Beans, drained and rinsed
• Roasted Tomatoes (see below), chopped
• 1 cup Red Wine (I used Cab. Sav.)
• 2.5 quarts Chicken Stock
• 6-8 oz. Ditalini Pasta
• 2 Tbsp. Basil, chiffonade
• Salt & Pepper, to taste
• Basil & Grated Parmesan or Asiago Cheese for Garnish

1. Heat a heavy-bottom pot over medium-high heat.  Add 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil and then add sausage, breaking it up into bite-sized pieces with a spoon.  Stir until browned, then remove from pot and reserve.
2. Add 1-2 Tbsp. Olive Oil more, and sauté the garlic, onion, and chile flakes for 3 minutes.
3. Add in Cannelini Beans, Roasted Tomatoes, rosemary , and thyme.  Stir well to combine. Sauté 2 minutes.
4. Deglaze the pan by CAREFULLY adding in the red wine, and using a wooden spoon to scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan.  Reduce to about 1 ounce of liquid, stirring frequently.
5. Add in the chicken stock and stir well to combine.  Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.  Using a stick blender, pureé some of the soup to help thicken it up.  Return cooked sausage to pot.
6. Stir in pasta and cook for about 7 minutes (subtract 1 minute from package directions al dente cooking time).
7. Reduce heat to a simmer, and season to taste with Salt & Pepper.
8. Just before serving, stir in basil.  Add more basil to the top and grated Parmesan if you like before serving.

If you’d like the soup more broth-y, you can skip pureeing the soup.  Also, you can cook the pasta separately and add it in just before the basil, just before serving (just be sure to cook the pasta according to package directions, then run under cold water to stop the cooking process).

Roasted Tomatoes

• 8 Roma Tomatoes, halved lengthwise
• 16 pieces fresh Thyme, about the size of the tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp Garlic, minced
• Olive Oil & Black Pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Place the tomato halves, cut side up, on a sheetpan and drizzle with olive oil.
3. Sprinkle some of the minced garlic on each half.  Top with a piece of Thyme sprig.
4. Roast in 400°F oven for about 1 hour, until the omatoes atart to brown.
5. When cooled, cut each half into bite-sized pieces, about 6 pieces per half.

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Play With Your Food…

…I can’t say to LITERALLY play with your food, but play around with your food ideas!  Take something that you know as a staple (like Shepherd’s Pie) and give it a few little tweaks and twists to change it up.  Today, I swapped corn, black bean, jalepenos, and cilantro for the traditional carrots, celery, peas, and thyme.  I also added some cumin to the mix to bring out a smoky, southwestern flavor.

Playing with your food - to me - is the best part of cooking – it’s where your true creativity gets to shine through.  It also helps to break up the mundane-ness of making something from your recipe arsenal.  Even as a chef, I get bored making the same things over and over again.  So, sometimes I like to look and see what I have on hand, then flip through my cookbooks and get ideas for dishes.  Today it was ground turkey, cilantro, and potatoes in the cupboard.  So I had to run to the store and fill in the gaps, but now we are gonna have something a little bit different.  After all, when was the last time you saw “Southwestern Shepherd’s Pie” on a menu or in a recipe book? (but, if it works out, I’ll happily be posting the recipe on here!)

The point – you don’t have to be boring when making dinner – take charge of the food and make something fun and new for yourself and your family.  Now time to see how it came out!

Keep cooking, and leaving me comments!

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I haven’t been very good about keeping this site & blog updated, so I’m working to get back on track with more postings to come – including recipes, ranting & raving, and more Setting Up For Success Tips!

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