If I had to pick.
HAD to pick. I don't want to pick...
I'm very indecisive.
But if you absolutely, positively force me to pick my favorite type of food, it would be Italian.
It's comfort food. It's full of flavor. And I loooove me some pasta. The end.
I made my version of Pasta E Fagioli soup tonight for dinner. Here's the rundown.
The Ingredients:
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
6 Slices of Bacon, Chopped
1 Onion, Diced
3-6 Cloves of Garlic, Minced
2 Cans of Beans (kidney, pinto, cannellini, etc)
2 Quarts of Chicken Stock
1 Sprig Each of Fresh Thyme and Rosemary
1 Pound of Your Favorite Small Pasta
The Process:
Put a large dutch oven or stock pot on medium high heat. At a lug of olive oil.
When your oil is hot, add the chopped bacon.
When the bacon is good and crispy, use a slotted spoon to remove it from the pan and set aside for later. Leave the oil and drippings in the pan.
Add the diced onions to the pan and cook for about 3 minutes or until the onions start to brown.
Add the minced garlic and cook for another minute.
Meanwhile, dump the beans into a colander and rinse off all the gross goo and foam. I hate that gross goo. Blech.
Now that the beans are goo-free, go ahead and add them to the pan.
Dump in both quarts of chicken stock.
Now stick the herbs into the mix. I like to tie the sprigs together with butcher string so that it's easier to fish them out later but if you don't have butcher string, don't worry. You'll find the stems eventually...
Add some salt and pepper.
Put a lid on your pot and bring everything to a boil.
Add your pasta* to the pot and simmer for 8-10 minutes or until al dente. This will vary depending the type of pasta you choose.
*I chose campanelle because I love to use different shaped pasta but use whatever you have on hand.
When pasta is cooked, throw the pieces of bacon from earlier back into the soup.
Take a taste and see if it needs any more salt or pepper. If so, add some. At this point, I also like to add a pinch of red pepper flakes because my husband routinely enjoys scorching his taste buds off and I'm here to please.
And there you have it folks. Soup's on!
I like to serve the soup with a healthy sprinkling of freshly grated parmigiano reggiano and a good piece of crusty Italian bread. Alright, alright. Two or Three pieces of crusty Italian bread. You get the idea.
Buon Appetito!
