So many dishes could come under the heading of Comfort Food. After the last several years of living through a political nightmare and segueing into a pandemic I think we can all agree that food has been and still is a great comfort to us all. I have to chuckle at all of my friends talking about how they cannot fit into their jeans and elastic waist bands have become our new attire. I wore jeans for the first time yesterday and I must admit they were a bit snug and I could not wait to get home into my “soft clothes”.

Ok so we all gained a few but honestly, we have been through hell as a nation and like it or not my friends, cooking and eating great food helped a lot. I mean is there anything betting than drowning our sorrows in a steaming bowl of something delicious? I think we all know the answer to that question!

I remember when I was a kid one of my favorite dishes was Pasta Fagioli, this was a meal that I never wrinkled my nose at and to this very day, it’s one of my all time favorites. In this house we have it at least once a week and I vary the ingredients from time to time depending on what I have in the house. This is another of those wonderful ‘peasant food” dishes so there is a lot of room for playing around with it.

Some of my friends add sausage or pepperoni, both delicious. Sometimes I will add a little dicedprosciutto, this gives the soup a hint of a smokey flavor which I love. This meal is simple to prepare and can be made in about 20 minutes. Serve with some crusty bread slathered in butter ( because who cares the pants are snug anyway) and you have a perfectly delicious and oh so comforting meal!

Pasta Fagioli Phil Style

Begin with a generous amount of olive oil in your pot, add 2 cloves chopped garlic, half of a medium sweet yellow onion, 2 carrots, and two stalks of celery all chopped. At this point I add about a tsp of Italian seasoning and tsp of crushed red pepper and let that cook for a few minutes. If you were going to add the diced prosciutto this would be the time. Once this cooks down a bit I add 1 can of navy or cannelini beans and 1 can of garbanzo beans and let them season for just a few minutes. If you have some parmesan rinds in the fridge, throw them in now. Add one cup blistered tomatoes (see side note below) and you can also use some marinara if you have it, about 1/2 cup. I like a red broth. Add 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock and let it all simmer for about 30 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper and add 2 generous spoonfuls of pesto. Add some grated parmesan cheese and you are ready to serve.

Sidenote: I cook my pasta separately and let it cool before adding to the soup, this keeps it from sucking up all of the broth. I like Ditalini, or Orzo.

Sidenote: I have a huge obsession with roasted/blistered tomatos this is super easy to do and so worth it. Just toss cherry tomatoes with some olive oil, salt and pepper and roast in the oven on 375 until they blister and get a beautiful roasted look to them. For this soup I used about 12 tomatoes and about a half cup of my marinara which is a staple in my fridge.

Try not to get bogged down in the details with dishes like this, remember peasant food really has no rules and that is precisely why these types of dishes are my absolute favorites to prepare. Enjoy!