Pasta e fagioli (pasta and bean stew)

Every Italian family has a version of this homestyle dish. Some are more soupy, some vegetarian, but this one is Silvia's.

• serves

  4

• prep

  45 minutes

• cook

  5 hours

• difficulty

  Mid

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Ingredients

• 500 g dried borlotti beans
• 3 bay leaves
• Sea salt, to taste
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 300 g pork neck, roughly chopped
• 3 pork sausages, out of their casings and roughly chopped
• 2 pieces pork skin, optional
• 1 small piece parmesan rind, or pecorino rind
• 2 litres tomato passata

Pasta

• 400 g strong ‘00’ flour
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• pinch of sea salt flakes
• semolina flour, for dusting

You will need to begin this recipe 1 day ahead 

Instructions

1. Soak the dried borlotti beans overnight in plenty of cold water.
2. The following day, drain the beans and place in a large saucepan with 2 of the bay leaves. Add enough water to cover well, bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 1–1½ hours or until the beans are tender and cooked through. Remove from the heat, season with salt and stand the beans to cool in the cooking liquid.
3. Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the celery, onion, carrot and garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the meat and cook for 2- 3 minutes or until browned. Add the cheese rind, tomato  passata and the remaining bay leaf and simmer over low heat for 2 - 3 hours or until the meat is soft. Season with salt, then stir in the drained cooked beans.
4. Meanwhile, for the pasta, place the flour on a wooden board, make a well in the centre and drop in the eggs and salt. Using your fingers or a fork, mix together, then knead vigorously for about 10 minutes. At first, it will look crumbly, but once your body heat activates the starch in the flour, the dough will change its texture, transforming into a smooth, firm ball. (If you want to speed things up, mix the dough ingredients in a food processor until they resemble wet sand, then tip onto a floured board, bring together with your hands and knead for 1 minute.) Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
5. Cut the dough into quarters. Work with one piece at a time and keep the rest wrapped in plastic wrap to prevent the dough from drying out. Flatten the piece of dough with the palm of your hand, then pass it through the pasta machine’s widest setting three or four times, folding the dough into three each time. Continue passing the dough, each time through a thinner setting, until you get to the second-last setting or the sheet is roughly 2.5 mm thick. If you don’t have a pasta machine, you can use a rolling pin and a lot of elbow grease.
6. Overlap the floured pasta sheet and cut into 3 cm squares. Gently place the cut pasta on a floured tea towel, dust with semolina flour and allow to dry slightly at room temperature.
7. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Drop in the pasta and boil for 2 - 3 minutes or until cooked. Drain, then add the pasta to the bean and tomato mixture and serve hot with a drizzle of chilli oil or a grind of pepper and a handful of grated parmesan and celery leaves.

 

Silvia Colloca shares her Italian family secrets in the brand-new third season of Cook like an Italian.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

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