The other day Marlo pulled out some leftovers his mom had given him, pasta e fagioli, pasta with beans. I snuck a bite (having eaten earlier) and it was so good, even cold! I couldn’t get it out of my mind so I decided to make my own last night. I had made a pasta e fagioli dish before, but it was a soup, with a lot of broth and chunks of tomato. That wasn’t the dish I had in mind.
I wanted pasta with tomato sauce and white beans. Simple. I thumbed through a few recipes, some with potato, some with ground beef, some with carrots and celery and finally found a nice simple version that seemed like it would be very close to what I’d tasted. I hadn’t gotten a chance to ask his mom how she made hers.
It was in a book that has a surprising number of excellent recipes in it. When I first picked it up at the used bookstore many years ago, I saw all the pictures of movie stars and other celebrities in it and almost put it back down but then I read through a few recipes and decided to spend a couple of bucks. I’m so glad I did! The book is Eat This…It Will Make You Feel Better (Amazon link) by Dom DeLuise. You can buy it on Amazon used for $6. There are lots of stories to go along with the excellent recipes. In addition the pasta e fagioli, I’ve made escarole soup, stracciatelle soup, spinach and potatoes in broth, Mamma’s meat sauce and many more. But I think this pasta e fagioli is my new favorite.
Dom’s Mamma’s Pasta e Fagioli
Ingredients
- 2 garlic cloves. minced
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 8- oz can tomato sauce
- 1 cup water
- 1 15- oz can cannellini beans, undrained
- 1/2 pound ditalini or elbow macaroni
- fresh parsley, chopped
- grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Put a pot of water on to boil and add some salt. When it comes to a boil, stir in the pasta and cook according to the package directions.
- Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a skillet and cook over medium low heat until golden.
- Add the beans and their liquid to the garlic and stir.
- Stir in the tomato sauce and water (add water to the can to get all the tomato sauce out!). Bring to a low simmer and cook about ten minutes.
- When the pasta is done, drain it and stir into the bean mixture. If it is thicker than you like, stir in a bit more water.
- Add the fresh parsley and serve with grated Parmesan cheese. You can also add some dried red pepper flakes.
Leftovers are good cold, as I first learned. Or you can reheat it over low with a little more water added.
Now you’re making me hungry! The Hungarian paprika sounds like a good addition.
Ellen-
As the youngest of a first generation Italian family, my older sister gave me this book 30 years ago, when I wanted to learn my Mom’s recipes before they were lost. My sis promised me the Italian recipes would be authentic Amalfi coast, exactly the dishes I was brought up on.
This one is signature peasant Amalfi. Quick, filling and delicious. I’ve since had pasta e fagioli with carrots and chicken broth, for instance…good, but not the same. If you really want to kick it up a notch, try some Hungarian Paprika (my Publix carries it from McCormick). It’ll give you the heat of crushed red pepper but without the bite. Very savory.
I see a recipe in the first book for Diane’s Anise Cookies. Is that what you’re looking for? Looks like a typical biscotti recipe. 2 1/2 cups flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/4 cup margarine, 1 cup sugar, 4 eggs and 1 Tablespoon anise extract.
Thank you so much for posting this! I used to have Dom Deluise’s cookbooks and used them all the time, but they were lost in a move. Do you happen to have his anisette cookie (or anisette toast) recipe? I’ve been looking all over! Thanks again.