Pasta Dishes Made In Italy

Pasta Fagioli: What It Is and How to Make It

Author: Michele @ Foodieview

There are a plethora of delicious Italian meals. Many of the best Italian meals involve some variation of pasta. The majority of the traditional Italian dishes that are popular today began as meals eaten by peasants, because their ingredients were widely available, inexpensive, and easy to put together.

In Sicily and across Italy, lower income workers were still able to afford a tasty pasta known as “pasta e fagioli” which translates to “Pasta and Beans” – two main ingredients that were also both easily available in Italy. The traditional pasta fagioli recipe is completely meat free (since its origin, many recipes been created that do indeed have meat ingredients), and currently enjoyed not only in Italian restaurants, but in thousands of other restaurants around the world.

What Ingredients are Used in The Standard Pasta Fagoli Recipe?

It is possible for your pasta fagioli recipe to differ from the traditional method. However, inside of this type of pasta you will almost always find:

• Small Pasta
• Cannellini Beans
• Olive Oil
• Garlic
• Onion
• Tomatoes

As well as a variety of different spices that give pasta fagioli its delicious flavor.

What Does This Type of Pasta Soup Taste Like?

Because of the lack of cheese in most of these recipes, the pasta has a much lighter flavor than most pasta today.  The Cannellini Beans (which may also be replaced with Borlotti Beans) are lightly flavored, while the entire dish can vary in consistency depending on the ingredients used.

Once you have cooked the pasta fagioli recipe, it is also not uncommon to top it off with some parmesan or other cheeses, as well as croutons and a side of bread.

How is Pasta Fagioli Served?

Pasta fagioli can be served as an appetizer – and often is at some of the more expensive establishments. However, it is a hearty soup with a great deal of health benefits, and may also be eaten as a main course. Much of it depends on the size of the dish and whether or not it is served in a traditional Italian manner. For many, the soup is simply the “first course” or the “contorno,” both of which are considered appetizers by traditionally Italian standards.

How is Pasta Fagioli Cooked?

In the general pasta fagioli recipe, the olive oil will be added to the pot first, followed by any vegetables and spices. Water, any stock, beans and tomatoes are added later, and the pasta is not added until the mixture has begun to boil, in order to ensure that the pasta retains its shape and consistency.

Enjoying a Tasty Soup of Tradition

Pasta Fagioli is a delicious soup that tastes great with a meal, or shared as a meal of its own. It is healthy, inexpensive, and can be made with leftovers as easily as it is made with fresh ingredients. Substitutes of used tomato sauce and the leftover noodles you have on hand are very common in a pasta fagioli recipe, and will still create a delicious and easy to create dish that you are sure to enjoy

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/cooking-tips-articles/pasta-fagioli-what-it-is-and-how-to-make-it-1425707.html

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