30-minute weekday dinner anyone? Say hello to Pasta Fagioli! “Fagioli” (fa-joli) means beans in Italian and this Blue Zone dish from Sardinia celebrates the humble bean.
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Did you know that people living the longest eat ½ to 1 cup of beans a day? So, if you want to up the quality of life, its good to get some beans into your diet. Try lentils or black-eyed peas for starters. They’re the least gassy.
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I made this dish with the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia today and they told me it snowed for the first day of the season today! So, a warm pasta bowl like this is the perfect dinner to snuggle up with.
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It comes together in 30 minutes or less and uses mostly pantry ingredients. It’s a simple preparation of sautéing veggies, tomatoes, and then adding the beans. I have to say the key ingredients here are the extra virgin olive oil and the pecorino or parmesan cheese.
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Get your best extra virgin olive oil to drizzle at the end and grate some of that good cheese over too. Then, the dish feels decadent- not that “health food stuff”.
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Enjoy! Buon Appetito!
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Why you'll love this recipe:
- its even great the next day eaten like a cold pasta salad
- its a filling vegetarian or vegan meal
- it comes together in 30 minutes- a for a perfect weekday dinner
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30-minute Pasta Fagioli
INGREDIENTS (serves 4-6):
- ¼ lb orecchiette
- 1-2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 stalks fresh celery, chopped
- ½ cup chopped zucchini, chopped
- 1-2 cloves Fresh garlic, minced or garlic powder to taste
- 1 -2 cups cherry tomatoes
- 1 ½ cans great northern beans (or 3 cups cooked), drained
- ½ cup flat Italian parsley, chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
- ¼ cup pecorino cheese (optional)
Directions:
- Bring a pot of water to boil to cook the pasta. Salt the water with about 1 Tbsp. salt or the water tastes like the sea. Boil the pasta until al dente, or there is a bite to it. Then, drain pasta, but reserve ½ cup pasta cooking water.
- Chop and dice all the vegetables into a small size. Heat a large saute pan with 1 Tbsp. olive oil and add onion, celery, zucchini, garlic, and whole cherry tomatoes. Cook a few minutes, or until zucchini is just soft to the bite. Squash the cherry tomatoes with a spatula to release their juice.
- Then, add cooked pasta to the pan with the veggies. Add the reserve ½ cup cooking water and the drained beans. Heat for 1-2 minutes and add salt and pepper to taste.
- Finish with lots of chopped parsley, olive oil and cheese. (You could even zest some lemon on top- would be nice).
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To your happy and healthy life,
Joanna
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