Ilove legumes, I love pasta, I love one-pot meals. Hands down, beans and macaroni, or pasta e fagioli as the foodistas call it, is my favorite food. Its cheap, its healthy, its versatile and its fast. Its even vegan! Growing up, we ate it two or three times a week. I still make this soup at least once a week. Here's what I do:1. In a medium sauce pan, saute a small yellow onion in olive oil for a few minutes.
2. Add a 16 oz. undrained can of Roman beans (sometimes I use red kidney beans) along with about two canfuls of water, making sure all the good stuff that's settled at the bottom is added to the pot.
3. Add a good-sized, heaping tablespoon of tomato paste, or about a third of whats in those little cans. You can use tomato sauce instead, but paste is a better thickener.
4. Add fresh basil or oregano. When there's fresh basil around, I always perfer it over oregano.
5. Add salt, pepper and a small whole dried hot pepper either with the stem pulled off or punctured through the middle with a knife.
6. Boil long enough for the foam to thin out and darken (you'll know what I mean).
7. Add short-cut pasta such canneroni, ditali or small shells, or break linguine into 1-1/2-inch pieces.
Its done with the pasta is done. Don't over cook it! Let it sit for a few minutes before serving. A little grated pecorino romano cheese makes this dish perfect - vegans beware!
You can add all kinds of vegetables to the soup. I like to add broccoli, cauliflower, escarole or broccoli rabe. Just add the vegetable (better to stick to just one) before or after the pasta, depending on whether its fresh or already cooked. When using cannellini or some other white beans, I saute carrots along with the onions, omit the tomato paste and substitute a couple of bay leaves for the basil or oregano.
