Meat Lovers: Pasta Fagioli

Every Saturday I have the same routine. I get up and take my dogs to the park in Charlestown and then come home and do my shopping for the week. I start at Haymarket and then head to Polcari's, my favorite place to get dried grains and beans (and coffee too). Last Saturday, Polcari's had these cool looking beans called cranberry beans, so I thought I would give them a try.

These beans were really pretty with vibrant color. I had never made them before, so I decided to go with an old stand by recipe to try them out. Pasta Fagioli is a traditional Italian soup with beans, vegetables and pasta. It is delicious and totally filling!

I started the night before by soaking the beans in water with some salt. I usually only use water to soak beans, but I didn't know how hard these beans were. Using a little salt helps soften beans more quickly (a good tip if you have to prepare dry beans in a pinch!).

Here is what you will need:

1 cup dried orzo (or the pasta of your choice)

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 small yellow onion, small diced

2 celery stalks peeled and diced

1 cup chopped carrots

1 medium tomato, peeled and chopped

1 cup chopped zucchini

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon dried sage leaves

1 tablespoon of rosemary

2 tsp fresh basil, chopped

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp pepper

1 1/2 tbsp paprika

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon of thyme

3 tablespoons tomato paste

6 cups vegetable broth

1 ¾ cup of dried cranberry beans (soaked over night with a little salt)

Before soaking the beans, be sure to dump them all in a pan and just run your hands through them. Sometimes with dry beans you will find that there are small rocks. This completely natural. It is easier to identify impurities before you soak them.

Bring a medium saucepan of heavily-salted water to a boil. Add the orzo and cook according to package instructions. Drain and run under cold water to stop the cooking. Drizzle with a little olive oil to prevent sticking. Set aside.

Boil the beans in cold water for 45 minutes until soft. Drains the beans and combine with the orzo.

In a separate skillet, saute the onions, carrots, zucchini, tomatoes and celery for 3 to 5 minutes until the veggies have softened. Add the garlic, basil, rosemary, sage, oregano, thyme, salt and pepper. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly until the tomato blends into the veggies.

Combine the broth (used the broth that I made earlier in the week), seasoning, veggies, 2 bay leaves and beans and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until the veggies are tender and the flavors have melded- at least 10 minutes, but up to an hour (I let mine simmer for 45 minutes). Taste and add more salt and pepper if necessary.