Although I don't think I've ever met a soup I didn't like -- at least, not yet! -- my two all-time favorites are wedding soup and this soup, pasta e fagioli. When I learned that Mr. Rosemary also loved pasta e fagioli, I was in heaven. I think part of my affection for it is that it just sounds so very authentically Italian!
He told me that it was his favorite lunch at a restaurant he often went to back when he was working in the city. In Pittsburgh, an Italian restaurant close to his office was (and still is I guess) Costanza's. He and his friend Rich (always at Rich's initiative, I'm sure; fast food would have kept Mr. Rosemary content) would often walk the half-block (!) to this cozy little restaurant and always have pasta e fagioli. I'm sure it was also Rich's suggestion that got Mr. Rosemary to try something like this.
Mr. Rosemary raved about it. So, of course, I made it at home. The first time I made it, it was too brown and not thick enough. I tried again. Still, not the same. So I'd quiz him. It was close to an interrogation under a naked light bulb. I'd fire away: did it have white beans or red beans, what kind of pasta, did it have meat, any veggies. I'd try again. Closer, he'd say, but it wasn't quite "red enough."
Now I ask you -- is the soup in this picture red? Although he said it was good, very good, it was just not the same. So I'm torn: shall I continue on my quest to duplicate his memory? Or just be satisfied that I had made a very good soup that we both liked? (Yes, I know the answer.)
I'm especially glad that I made this yesterday, because there's a big spring snow storm coming overnight and this will be ready for us. And I thought maybe this was too much for spring!
Pasta e Fagioli
adapted from Rachael Ray
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 slices bacon
2 whole sprigs rosemary
1 whole sprigs of thyme
2 sage leaves
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1 medium carrot, chopped fine
1 stalk celery, chopped fine
4 cloves garlic, chopped fine
salt and pepper
2 15 ounce cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup tomato sauce
1 quart chicken stock
12 cups cooked small shells
shards of Parmesan and chopped Italian parsley to garnish
Heat olive oil in a deep soup pot over medium high heat and add bacon. (If I would have had pancetta, I would have used it.) Brown the bacon and add the herbs, chopped vegetables and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook the vegetables until softened. Add the beans, tomato sauce and stock and reduce heat to medium low. Let simmer for about five minutes. Remove the stems of the herbs and add the cooked pasta. Ladle into bowls and top servings with cheese and parsley. Makes about 6 servings.
