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Pasta Fagioli (Fasioi or Fazzui - in Venetian dialect) by Robert S.

This is my Grandmother Tonia's recipe. She was from a peasant family in Gallera Veneta, just north of Venice. This is the original recipe, simple and extremely satsifying, just as it was prepared over 100 years ago in the Veneto. We grew up in Chicago with this being a principal family comfort food throughout the fall and winter months. 

-makes one meal of eight servings

-preparation time: 20 minutes to prepare ingredients, and 2 hours of cooking time.

 

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup olive oil

Large bunch (about 1/2 lb) of fresh Italian flat leaf Parsley, finely chopped

2 large onions chopped into small pieces

3 cloves garlice chopped coarse

2 cups dried Borlotti beans, soaked overnight in water with 2 tbs baking soda

3 potatoes, peeled and diced

1 carrot, finely chopped

1 fresh tomato, diced

dried porcini, crumbled

salt (to taste)

fresh coarse ground black pepper (to taste)

handful of Orecchiette or Macaroni noodles

 

Assemble and prepare all the above items before you begin to saute. 

Melt butter and olive oil in a large sauce pan or better, a deep Dutch oven-type pan or heavy gauge pot. Saute garlic for a minute, add onions, saute for another 3 minutes until onions become slightly transparent; add parsley, saute for another 3 minutes or until parsley becomes a bright green color.

Add potatoes, carrot, tomato, and dried porcini. Lower heat. Continue to simmer until all well blended.

Rinse soaked beans, then add with 6 cups of water to simmering pot. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Simmer over low heat (uncovered) for 1.5 hours. Add water as necessary. Stir frequently.

After 1.5 hours, blend mixture in a blender and strain through a wire colander to remove bean skins. Return filtered mix to pot and low heat for remaining 1/2 hour. 

Add pasta, continue to cook until al dente. Add another 2 tablespoons of butter just before serving.

 

Farro alternative- add 1 cup of Farro medio (Emmer: Triticum dicoccum/semiperlato) after the blending step above and cook for at least one hour more before serving. Add water to achieve the soup thickness you want. You can also soak the farro overnight to shorten cooking time. Farro also contains gluten.  Find farro medio here:

http://www.tuscanfieldsfarro.com

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