L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 38 L'Italo-Americano LA BUONA TAVOLA RECIPES COOKING TIPS SEASONAL DISHES P asta e fagioli, or pasta and beans, is a classic dish found in mos t Italian households. Like many of the dis hes that are now popular around the world, this was once a peasant dish in Italy. A very simple dish that is both high in fibre and filling! The preparation of pasta e fagioli varies greatly throughout Italy, as each region or town would use their most available ingredients. The two ingredients however that always remain the s ame are cooked beans and some sort of short pasta. Recently, I asked my mom what she recalled of this dish growing up in Italy. She said this was made often as you needed to cook large batches to feed not only your own large family but also those that came to help work the land. It had to be some- thing hearty and filling with readily available ingredients and of course not expensive to make. She remembers how they would grow their own wheat, harvest it, then take the grain to be milled into flour to make their pasta and bread. The leftover parts of the plant were stored as feed for the animals. I often find myself thinking about how all of our parents and grandparents had to work so hard to gather the basic necessi- ties to s urvive back in their impoverished times. Contrast how much we have today com- pared to how frugal they needed to be. Our parents' hard work and determination has provided us with an amazingly lucky life. I encourage everyone to talk to ANNA ROMANO & ANGELA DESALVO their aging parents and/or rela- tives and record these precious stories to pass on to your kids. Nonna Anna showed us her version of pasta e fagioli which uses the beans to make a sauce and a special cut of homemade pas ta called 'maltagliati' or 'badly cut'. Nonna Anna used home grown beans from her gar- den for this, but you can substi- tute canned or dry beans that have been cooked. My dad recalls, as a young- ster, that when it was pasta e fagioli for dinner, they would serve it up in long wooden plat- ters. Everyone would have their assigned seats around the table and you would eat right from the platter BUT be sure not to start diving into your closest sibling's portion! He also remembers that some would widen the tines on their forks in the hopes of grab- bing more pasta with each bite! Sibling rivalry at its best! Pasta e Fagioli - Pasta and Beans Ingredients Pasta ●3 cups all purpose flour + extra for work surface ●1 cup water ●1 large egg Sauce ●2 litres canned tomato purée ●1 medium onion, cut into pieces ●1 celery s talk, cut into pieces ●1 carrot, cut into pieces ●1 tablespoon olive oil ●salt and pepper ●2 pounds pork hocks ●2 beef shanks (cut and dice meat into bite size pieces, dis- card bone and fat, boil shank meat in water for 2 minutes, drain, then rinse well) ●2 cans romano beans or equivalent fresh from garden or frozen ●Parmesan cheese, optional To make the pasta 1. With a fork, beat the egg in a measuring cup. Then add water to a final volume of 1 cup. 2. Make a well with the flour on your work surface, add the liquid to the center and with your hands carefully incorporate the flour into the liquid, working from the inside out and being careful not to break the well wall. 3. Slowly incorporate all the flour and knead until you have a very smooth dough. 4. Wrap in food safe plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for 30 minutes. 5. U s ing a pas ta rolling machine, roll small portions of dough at a time until you reach a thickness of about 2-3mm. Lay the rolled sheets of pasta on lightly floured and food safe cardboard, parchment paper or a clean tablecloth to dry. Because it is thicker, it will take a little longer to dry. Once it is dry enough that it doesn't stick to itself, fold it to a 1 inch wide roll. Start at one end and with a knife cut small diagonal pieces. Separate pasta by fluffing with hands and place on cookie sheet or cardboard until you are ready to use. To make the sauce 1. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot. Add the onion, carrot and celery pieces and sauté for a few minutes. 2. Add the tomato purée and salt and pepper to taste. 3. Add the prepared shank meat to the pot and allow to cook in the sauce. Pasta e fagioli the traditional pasta and beans Italian soup THURSDAY, AUGUST 10, 2017 4. Let the sauce come to a boil, then cover and gently sim- mer for 2 hours. Stir often. 5. Thoroughly clean and then boil the pork hocks separately in water until the meat comes away from the bone. Discard the bones and any visible fat, dice the meat into small pieces and set aside. 6. If us ing canned beans , drain and rinse well then set aside. For frozen beans, cook them separately in salted boiling water for about 30 minutes then drain and set aside. You want them firm but cooked through. 7. About 15 minutes before the sauce is finished, put a cup of sauce in a pot with the cooked diced pork hocks. Gently heat through over low heat. 8. In a separate pot, do the same with the beans. Do not overcook or they will get mushy. 9. Discard the onion, carrot and celery pieces in the sauce. 10. Cook the pasta in plenty of salted boiling water being careful not to overcook. 11. D rain the pas ta but reserve about 2 cups of the cook- ing water. 12. Put the drained pasta back into the empty cooking pot and immediately add as much sauce as desired and allow to cook together for a quick minute over low heat. Add some of the pasta water if too dry. This pasta is served a little more "liquidy" than regular pasta. 13. Q uickly trans fer to a large, shallow serving dish. Add more sauce on top of the pasta, add the prepared pork hocks and beans along w ith parmes an cheese and serve while piping hot. The preparation of pasta e fagioli varies greatly throughout Italy, as each region or town would use their most available ingredients. Photo: Nonna's Way

• Cover