Italian Soups -- Pasta e Fagioli

Well, earlier in this week in Southern California, it rained for part of the day and the temperatures dipped below 60 at night. To us, that means soup weather has arrived. (To those of you on the East Coast already experiencing snow, it probably means us Californians are still out in "la-la" land!).

Below is my favorite Italian soup cookbook. I have mentioned in previous posts that I collect cookbooks. And while I enjoy reading them all, it is those simpler cookbooks and recipes that remind me of my childhood that I go back to again and again.

For the soup that I cooked earlier this week, I choose a recipe that I had not yet tried before. Brad loves beans, pasta and sausage in his soup and this one has those main ingredients. However, it has a lot of fennel in it and I was afraid that it might have too much of an anise taste. I was surprised. Like most vegetable based soups, it has a wonderfully fresh taste and that hits your palate with a "Oh, this is really homemade, hot and soothing."

I like to use hot Italian sausage in my soups because I think it imparts a certain spiciness. You can easily use sweet sausage or half hot/half sweet. The recipe calls for "farfallette" pasta. If you cannot locate that in your grocery store, just choose something small. I usually cut down on the amount the recipe requires because I like a soup with a bit more broth and vegetables.

This is an excellent recipe -- easy and fulfilling for a cozy dinner. I hope you enjoy it!

PASTA & BEANS WITH FENNEL AND SAUSAGE
(PASTA E FAGIOLI CON FINOCCHI E SALSICCE)

Ingredients:
1 can (28oz) Italian plum tomatoes with juice
6 large cloves garlic, peeled
1t. olive oil
1 lb. hot or sweet Italian sausage, casing removed
2 medium fresh fennel bulbs, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch dice, leaving leaves for garnish
2 medium to large onions, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1/2 c. chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1/4 t. fennel seeds
6 cups homemade Chicken broth, or canned low-sodium chicken broth
1 can (15-1/2 oz.) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 c. cooked small pasta, such as farfallette, fusili, etc.
3/4 c. freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1. Drain the tomato liquid into a bowl, cut the tomatoes into 1 inch pieces, and place in the bowl with the liquid. Set aside. Mince 4 of the garlic cloves and halve the remaining cloves. Set aside separately.
2. Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the sausage, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, and cook until browned -- 5-6 minutes. Keep stirring as the sausage cooks. Transfer the sausage to a sieve and drain thoroughly, pressing on the sausage with a rubber spatula to extract all the fat. Return the sausage to the soup pot over medium heat, add the fresh fennel, onions, parsley, minced garlic and fennel seeds. Cook uncovered, until the vegetables are tender but still al dente (tender but still firm to the bite), about 12 minutes.
3. Add the chicken broth and tomatoes with their liquid. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a very slow but stead simmer, and cook, covered for 30 minutes. Add the beans and pasta, and cook only until they are warmed through and the flavors have come together, about 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, preheat the broiler. Rub the remaining garlic on some Italian bread slices and heat.
5. Serve the soup with the bread and top with the cheese.

NOTE: I usually cook the soup the entire day before I put the beans and pasta into the soup. I like the flavors of the broth and vegetables to marry first. About 1-1/2 hours prior to serving, I put the beans in (and usually put in two cans). Just before serving, I bring to a boil and add the pasta and serve the soup when the pasta is cooked.