Looking for a hearty dish to make for dinner? If you live in the two thirds of our country that’s in a deep freeze right now, I’m quite sure you are! With these frigid temperatures and snowstorms that are plaguing most of our country, we need a meal that warms our hearts, souls, and bodies. My hearty pasta and beans is just that meal.

My husband adores this dish, especially on a cold evening with a hunk of crusty Italian bread and a glass of red wine. However, he refuses to call it “pasta e fagioli.” Please do check the blog archives for what he considers traditional pasta e fagioli. I blogged his recipe years ago. It is absolutely delicious. I love it when he makes it, but I also love my pasta e fagioli. They are different, and both delicious. No one has ever turned down a dish of either.

It does make me laugh when we confront each other in the kitchen to decide(argue) who’s recipe will we use on any particular night. I want it my way, and he wants it his way. You would think that a 50/50 compromise would settle it. Actually, I let him make it his way 75% of the time. He feels triumphant, and I get a delicious homemade meal without doing the cooking. I just have a glass of white wine and watch.  What could be better?

I hope you’ll try both recipes……and stay warm!

Recipe:  serves 4

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 carrots,  chopped finely

2 celery stalks, chopped finely

2 Tablespoons tomato paste or 1/3 cup leftover marinara sauce

3 Tablespoons olive oil

1 tsp. crushed red pepper or to taste

salt and pepper to taste

fresh sage leaves (optional, but oh so wonderful), roughly chopped and for garnish

8 to 12 ounces of chicken or vegetable broth or bouillon

1 29 ounce can of white cannelloni beans (I sometimes add another small can of beans)

1 pound mezze rigatoni or the calamari shape pasta

Grated pecorino romano cheese for passing

1. Bring a pasta pot of salted water to a boil.
2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a pot.  Add the chopped garlic, celery and carrots (I throw them all in a food processor and chop finely).  Saute until soft, about 3 to 4 minutes.  Add the chopped sage and red pepper and saute for 2 minutes.
3. Add the tomato sauce or paste and stir until combined, about 2 minutes.
4. Add all the beans and the broth, and let cook for 10 minutes over a low heat, stirring occasionally to combine flavors.  Season with salt and pepper.
5. With a slotted spoon, take 1 1/2 to 2 cups of beans out of the pot and puree until just smooth.  Return to the pot and cook for 5 minutes.
6. When the pasta is cooking, add 1 cup of the pasta water to the beans.  You can also add more broth if you feel you need it .  Reserve another cup of the water.
7. Drain pasta when done and add to pot.  Add more water if necessary.
8. Serve with lots of grated pecorino romano cheese and garnish with sage.
9.