Making Pasta e Fagioli
“When the stars make you drool just like a pasta fazool”….that's what this is!
The Quest
3/2/21
I’ve been trying to be really consistent at meal planning this year, and have been doing a pretty good job so far. I go shopping once for the week, planning on what to make for at least 5 dinners in a row.
I was doing my usual Sunday routine of going through my zillion Pinterest boards and trying to figure out what I wanted to make, when I found myself perusing my “Chilis, Soups, and Salads” board and found a recipe that I have not made yet!
This one comes from damndelicious.net and is the copycat Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli soup. So I have all my ingredients all set, and I’m scheduled to make it tomorrow.
The Journey
3/3/21
I was talking to my Mom this morning and she was reminiscing about how much my Dad hated beans, and thus hated this soup. He’d go in for a delicious bite of pasta and there’d be a bean sneakily hiding inside it.
So if you’re like my Dad, this soup might not be for you. But I personally thought it turned out delicious!
I started off by getting everything measured out, prepped, and cut up. This is referred to as “Mise en place,” a fancy French phrase meaning “putting in place” or “everything in its place.”
I find this method especially useful when making a recipe for the first time. Then I’m not stressing out, scrambling around and trying to get everything done at the same time. Everything is done ahead of schedule, so I just have to toss it in or what have you when I reach that step.
As you can see, cans are open, veggies chopped, herbs measured, beans rinsed and drained, and chicken broth ready to go.
Next up, I got my faithful little red Dutch oven heated up and added the sausage.
The recipe called for hot italian sausage, but I wasn’t sure how spicy that would be. So I got the mild kind, and added maybe a 1/4 t of red pepper flakes.
Next I added the veggies to the same pot that I had browned the sausage in, and cooked until tender (about 8-10 minutes).
The pasta is cooking in the background, but besides that and the beans, everything else is in the pot. The veggies, the sausage, the tomatoes and herbs.
The Verdict
The prep took a little longer than I thought, but that’s pretty commonplace for something I’ve never made before.
The only deviations I made from the original recipe as far as ingredients go were adding about 2 T of parmesan cheese, and (up to) 2 T of Sherry Vinegar, to bring out the flavors of the soup. I did this in the last step, when everything was already in the pot, right before it was dished out.
My husband and I both loved it, and the recipe easily made 6 servings. When my band gets back together for practice after it’s safe to do so, I definitely plan on making this for them. I’m sure they’ll love it.
All in all, I would say this recipe was a success and I will absolutely be making it again. A perfect soup for a cold night (or anytime)! Thanks again to damndelicious.net for a great recipe!
If you make this recipe, drop me a line or send me a photo at info@cookingtothepoint.com and let me know how it went! Or, tag me @cook2thepoint and use the hashtag #cookingtothepoint!
Happy eating!
