I made a pot of my Italian Grandma’s Pasta Fazool today and my husband Ty Leach ‘The Georgia Peach’ asked ‘what is this?’ I said ‘bean soup’ to keep it uncomplicated as we have a mixed marriage - I'm New Jersey Italian and he is Southern as Grits.
This soup is easy to make, tastes great, has a bit of protein and you can split the pot to freeze half before adding the elbow macaroni. Add 1/2 cup of elbows to the pot if you have divided it.
Pasta Fazool
Ingredients1 pound spicy or sweet Italian sausage, removed from casings
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
2 large celery ribs, thinly sliced,
2 medium carrots, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Two 15 ounce cans cannellini or great northern beans, drained and rinsed
One 15 ounce can fire roasted diced tomatoes
One 8 ounce can tomato sauce
One 32 ounce box chicken stock
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Parmesan rind, optional but adds a lot of flavor
1 cup elbow pasta,
Instructions
Brown sausage in olive oil, add onion, celery, carrots, garlic and cook until softened.
Stir in tomato paste and cook for a minute. Season with salt and pepper.
Add beans, tomatoes, tomato sauce, chicken stock, Italian seasoning and parmesan rind, if using.
Cover and simmer for 45 minutes.
Add pasta and cook until just past al dente.
Ladle into bowls and serve with more freshly grated parmesan.
