The other day we realized that we had never posted a corzetti pasta & fagioli recipe, so we decided to do it right away! It’s a dish we deeply love – easy to make, healthy, nutritious and super flavorful, pasta e fagioli is a recurring dream of ours in the winter. Nothing warms up body and soul on a chilly night like a bowl of this comforting Italian soup.
Although you can use any type of beans you have, both dried and fresh, we find that borlotti or cannellini beans are the best choice. In Tuscany, cavolo nero (a local variety of cabbage similar to kale) is sometimes added to the “pasta and beans”, making the primo piatto even more heartwarming and delicious. Do not forget to serve it with a glass of good Italian red wine.
Corzetti Pasta & Beans
Ingredients:
- 200 gr dried borlotti beans, soaked overnight
- 3 carrots
- 1/2 onion
- 1 celery stalk
- 1 garlic clove
- 2 bay leaves
- 100 gr tomato sauce
- 1 Parmigiano Reggiano rind (optional)
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt and black pepper
- corzetti pasta
Place the beans in a large pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a minimum and cook for about 1 hour or until cooked throughout. Add salt ten minutes before removing them from heat.
Peel the carrots and onion and place them, with the celery stalk and garlic clove, in a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped.
Cover the bottom of a pan with extra virgin olive oil and place on the stove. When the oil is hot, add the chopped vegetables (in Italian you would call this vegetable mixture a soffritto), season with salt and cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are really soft. Cook for about 15 minutes, adding some splashes of water if the soffritto dries up too fast.
Add the beans and tomato sauce, and cover with water. Bring to a boil and add the bay leaves and parmigiano reggiano rind (if using). Lower the heat and simmer gently until the soup gets a dense texture.
In the meantime, prepare the pasta. Make the corzetti pasta dough according to your favorite recipe and use your corzetti stamp to cut out the pasta coins. When ready, cook them in salted boiling water until very al dente.
Drain the corzetti pasta and add to the bean stew. Season your pasta & fagioli with salt and pepper and serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.