Pasta e fagioli

I have said so many times that Italian food is all about simple things and this “pasta e fagioli” doesn’t need a long caption to be introduced.

It’s one of my childhood favourite meals and pretty much a staple on my mum’s table during cold winter months.

The recipe is very forgiving: you can replace the cannellini beans with chickpeas or borlotti beans and use other short pasta cuts (ditali and conchigliette are the best!)

INGREDIENTS x2:

½ red onion

3 potatoes

1 garlic clove, grated or diced

Fresh rosemary

Olive oil for cooking

Salt & pepper to taste

¼ tsp chilli flakes

3 tbsp tomato passata

1l water

230g cannellini beans, cooked and drained

80g short-cut pasta

INSTRUCTIONS:

Dice the onion and set it aside. Cut the potatoes into small cubes and set these aside too.

In a saucepan, add a generous splash of olive oil, then the garlic, rosemary, onions and a bit of water. Cook for a few minutes then add in the potatoes, chilli flakes, black pepper, the remaining water and the passata.

Give it a good stir, cover and cook until the potatoes are soft and if you want, you can try and mash them for extra creaminess. Add the cannellini beans, salt to taste, then the pasta to finish with.

Cover and cook according to the cooking instructions on the pasta packet, but my recommendation is to cook it two minutes shorter than the instructed time for an “al dente” bite.

Serve with chilli oil, vegan parmesan and more fresh rosemary. Buon appetito!