Pasta and beans

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PRESENTATION

Pasta and beans

Pasta and beans (pasta e fagioli) is a classic Italian dish, a first course with an unmistakable flavor that’s deeply rooted in rural tradition. While more rustic versions, like our Neapolitan pasta and beans recipe, involve flavoring the dish with pork rind, other variants combine legumes with mollusks to give the dish an intense flavor of the sea, as in our recipe for cicatielli pasta with mussels and beans. A simple, inexpensive dish, then, but one that’s extremely tasty and authentic nevertheless, just like our own recipe for pasta and beans – thick enough to “stand a spoon up in” (the more traditionalists out there claim that this is how to recognize the right consistency: creamy yet hearty at the same time) and rich in flavor, with the guaranteed savory note that comes courtesy of the lard and prosciutto. A classic and comforting Italian dish that warms the soul and is sure to win everyone over with its timeless flavor. Why not try the summer version using fresh legumes, too? Try our pasta and beans recipe and you’ll soon be coming back for more!

INGREDIENTS
Ditaloni rigati pasta 0.75 lb (320 g)
Dried Borlotti beans 0.5 lb (200 g)
Tomato purée 1 cup (250 g)
Lard 3 oz (80 g)
Prosciutto crudo 3 oz (80 g)
Onions ½ cup (30 g)
Celery 1 (30 g)
Carrots 1 (30 g)
Garlic 1 clove
Rosemary 3 sprigs
Bay leaves 2
Extra virgin olive oil ¾ tbsp (10 g)
Black pepper to taste
Fine salt to taste
Preparation

How to prepare Pasta and beans

To prepare the pasta and beans, first leave the dried beans to soak overnight 1. The next day, rinse them 2, transfer them to a saucepan, cover with plenty of cold water, add 2 bay leaves, and boil them for around 80 minutes 3.

Meanwhile, prepare the other ingredients for the recipe. Start by peeling and finely chopping the onion, celery, and carrot 4, and then cut the prosciutto 5 and lard into strips 6.

Heat the oil in a pot, add a peeled clove of garlic and the chopped vegetables 7 and fry for around 5 minutes. Then add in the strips of prosciutto and lard 8 and cook for a couple more minutes. Remove the beans from the water using a slotted spoon and add them to the vegetable mixture 9.

Next, add a ladleful of the bean cooking water 10 to the mixture, setting the rest of the cooking water aside to use later. Now add the tomato purée 11 to the pot, season with salt moderately, add pepper, and cook for 20 minutes over medium heat, after which time you can add the pasta. Before adding the pasta, take two ladlefuls from the mixture and pour them into a container. Blend using an immersion blender 12 and set the resulting cream aside.

Add the ditaloni rigati pasta directly to the pot 13, cover with the cooking water from the beans, and allow the pasta to cook, stirring from time to time, still over medium heat. Once the pasta is cooked al dente, add the previously blended mixture 14 and the chopped rosemary, then turn off the heat 15, put the lid on, and leave to rest for 3 minutes. A final sprinkling of black pepper and your pasta and beans dish is ready to be served!

Storage

Your pasta and beans can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a day. The bean mixture, without the pasta, can be stored for 2-3 days, again in the refrigerator. Not suitable for freezing.

Tips

Finish off your pasta and beans with a drizzle of oil and a pinch of chili pepper for an even more delicious and authentic dish! If you prefer, you could replace the borlotti beans with cannellini beans for a more subtle flavor, or play around with different types of pasta, combining any leftovers you have in the cupboard, for example!

For the translation of some texts, artificial intelligence tools may have been used.