Pasta y Fagioli

 

 

Pasta y fagioli

 

 

 

This recipe is a combination of two.  One is from my grandmother, Lucy Piermarini, and one is from my aunt, Lucy Tocci.  They are similar in nature but my grandmother was from Rome and my Aunt Lucy was from Sicily.  By combining both of their recipes, I came up with a unique twist that features the best of both worlds.  My grandmother always saved prosciutto ends for her recipe and my aunt always used smoked ham hocks.  If you can get a prosciutto end, use one and then add two smoked ham hocks.  This will give you wonderful flavor.

 

 

Ingredients:



1 bag of yellow eye beans (dry)

1 large onion

half a bunch of celery, with leaves

3 or 4 fresh carrots

2 ham hocks and one prosciutto end or three smoked ham hocks

six Italian sausages

1 head of garlic, chopped finely

1 large can of San Marzano tomatoes (with basil)

2 cans of San Marzano tomato paste

1 can of been consommé

12 ounces of chicken broth

1 large can of cannelloni beans

1 large can of white kidney beans

1 cup of peccarino romano cheese

2 cups of cooked elbow macaroni

salt and pepper to taste

 

 

The night before you make this hearty soup, soak the yellow eye beans in cold water.  This will prepare them for the soup. 

 

Sweat these out by chopping and simmering over low heat for about 30 minutes.  Take off the heat.

 

Have a crock pot handy.  Put all the remaining ingredients (except for the canned beans and pasta) in the crockpot.  Simmer for 8 hours.  One hour before serving time, undercook the pasta by three minutes.  Add the canned beans (and their juices) and the pasta thirty minutes before serving.

 

Serve with a good loaf of Italian bread and plenty of freshly grated parmigianno regianno.