flipPasta e fagioli ('pasta fazool' for weeknights)
Pasta e fagioli ('pasta fazool' for weeknights)
Why this dish? A dish of Italian-American working families in East Harlem and the Bronx where Pacino grew up: cheap, nourishing, made from leftover broken pasta and beans, it was the meal on ordinary nights when money was tight.
A thick soup of small pasta and white beans, bound with tomato and pecorino, that sticks to the ribs. You eat it with a spoon, with stale bread for dipping.
Listen, at home in the Bronx, we weren't rich, you know? My grandmother Kate would break the leftover spaghetti ends at the bottom of the box, toss them in the beans, and there you go — pasta fazool. The smell of garlic and tomato filled the whole building. You grab your spoon, dip your bread, and believe me, you forget you don't have a dollar in your pocket. It was poor, but it was love on a plate.
- •Dried white beans (cannellini), soaked overnight — one bowl (hearty base)
- •Broken pasta ends (ditalini or broken spaghetti) — a handful (starch)
- •Garlic — a few cloves (aromatic)
- •Canned tomatoes — a little (color and binder)
- •Olive oil — a drizzle (fat)
- •Grated pecorino romano — to taste (salty umami)
Pasta e fagioli ('pasta fazool' for weeknights)
A thick soup of small pasta and white beans, bound with tomato and pecorino, that sticks to the ribs. You eat it with a spoon, with stale bread for dipping.
Why this dish? A dish of Italian-American working families in East Harlem and the Bronx where Pacino grew up: cheap, nourishing, made from leftover broken pasta and beans, it was the meal on ordinary nights when money was tight.
Listen, at home in the Bronx, we weren't rich, you know? My grandmother Kate would break the leftover spaghetti ends at the bottom of the box, toss them in the beans, and there you go — pasta fazool. The smell of garlic and tomato filled the whole building. You grab your spoon, dip your bread, and believe me, you forget you don't have a dollar in your pocket. It was poor, but it was love on a plate.
Ingredients (period version)
- Dried white beans (cannellini), soaked overnight — one bowl (hearty base)
- Broken pasta ends (ditalini or broken spaghetti) — a handful (starch)
- Garlic — a few cloves (aromatic)
- Canned tomatoes — a little (color and binder)
- Olive oil — a drizzle (fat)
- Grated pecorino romano — to taste (salty umami)
Ingredients
- Canned cannellini beans, drained — 2 x 400 g cans (hearty base)
- Ditalini pasta — 150 g (starch)
- Garlic — 3 cloves, minced (aromatic)
- Crushed tomatoes — 200 g (color and binder)
- Vegetable broth — 750 ml (liquid)
- Olive oil — 3 tbsp (fat)
- Grated pecorino romano — 50 g (salty umami)
- Rosemary sprig, salt, pepper — to taste (seasoning)
Method
- Sauté garlic in olive oil over low heat without burning.
- Add crushed tomatoes and rosemary, let reduce for 5 minutes.
- Pour in beans and broth, mash some beans with a spoon to thicken, simmer 15 minutes.
- Cook ditalini directly in the soup (add a little water if needed) until tender.
- Season with salt and pepper, serve thick with a drizzle of olive oil and plenty of grated pecorino.
How it was made : In the tenements of East Harlem and the Bronx, people cooked with what they had: dried beans bought in bulk, leftover pasta, a can of tomatoes. The soup was made in a single pot on the gas stove and fed the whole family for pennies.
The contemporary twist : A drizzle of quality olive oil and a twist of black pepper at serving, in a deep bowl, to turn this humble dish into chic comfort food.
Al Pacino · Charactorium
