6-12-17 Farfalle and small white beans

Tonight’s dinner will be a pale cousin to one of my mother’s simple, but always elegant dishes, beans and pasta (a.k.a. pasta fazool, past n beans, or to be linguistically correct – Pasta e Fagioli.

INGREDIENTS:

1.     Farfalle

2.     Peeled whole tomatoes

3.     Small white beans

4.     Olive oil

5.     Shallots

6.     Garlic

7.     Carrot thinly sliced

8.     Fresh oregano and basil

PROCESS:

Cook the onion and carrots in olive oil until the onion becomes soft, then add the garlic and cook for a few more minutes before adding the tomatoes.  Break up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon or crush them by hand (a lot messier).  Add the basil and oregano and simmer for about 30 minutes for the tomatoes to break down and thicken the sauce.  When the pasta is cooked mix it into the pan with the sauce and serve, sprinkled with freshly grated parmigiano cheese.

COMMENTS:

Simple elegance, and quite delicious.

The tomatoes are available online at Ditalia.com.  The small white beans at Midtown Market..  Krogers does not carry them.

TOMATOES- BEANS-BACON -8-6

The heat continues to exert it's influence on my dinner selection. The day seemed right for another Pasta-salad dish, especially with the ripe tomatoes looking at me from our kitchen counter. This would be at least the 6th meal like this since the heat arrived, and I wanted to continue to make each salad a little different from the one before. Tonight I added the beans and at the last minute substituted red wine vinegar for the lemon juice.



INGREDIENTS:

Campanelli pasta, or any other shaped pasta
Tomatoes cut into bite size pieces
Navy beans, drained
Bacon
Fresh oregano and basil, finely chopped
Onion, garlic
Celery,
Olive oil
Water…about1/4 cup
Red wine vinegar

PROCESS:

Prepare the “sauce” about an hour before cooking the pasta. In a bowl mix the tomatoes, beans, onion, garlic, and herb in olive oil and water. Add the vinegar, salt and pepper to taste and set aside to let all the flavors “settle”.

While the pasta is cooking, cook the chopped bacon, drain, and set aside.

Place the pasta in a large bowl and mix in the salad/sauce, add some pasta water if needed, and sprinkle the bacon on top and serve.

PROCESS:

This was a perfect dinner for a hot summer evening. OK..I did go a little heavy on the garlic and onion, but it bothered Patience more than me, although she still gave it a 10+++++.