Chef's Recipes

Pasta fagioli

Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for pasta fagioli by Robert Marchetti from Melbourne Italian restaurant Giuseppe, Arnaldo & Sons

By Robert Marchetti
  • 20 mins preparation
  • 1 hr 55 mins cooking
  • Serves 6
  • Print
    Print
Pasta fagioli

Ingredients

  • 100 gm flat pancetta, cut into batons
  • 100 ml extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 3 golden shallots, finely chopped
  • 2 inner stalks of celery, coarsely chopped
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped rosemary leaves
  • 375 gm each canned borlotti and kidney beans, drained
  • 250 ml (1 cup) red wine
  • 400 ml chicken stock
  • 200 gm canned whole tomatoes
  • 125 ml (½ cup) tomato sugo or passata
  • 200 gm short pasta, such as tubetti or gnocchetti
  • To serve: finely grated parmesan and extra-virgin olive oil

Method

Main
  • 1
    Combine pancetta and oil in a large heavy-based saucepan and cook over medium heat until fat renders and pancetta starts to colour (4-5 minutes). Add garlic, shallot, celery and rosemary and cook until soft and starting to caramelise (5-6 minutes). Add beans and cook until starch begins to form on the bottom of pan (3-4 minutes), being careful it doesn’t catch. Deglaze with wine, cooking until reduced completely (7-8 minutes), then add stock, tomatoes and sugo. Reduce heat to low and cook, just simmering, for 1-1½ hours, stirring frequently so mixture doesn’t catch on bottom of pan.
  • 2
    Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain and set aside.
  • 3
    Transfer a quarter of the soup mixture to a food processor and purée, then return to pan. Add pasta, stir to combine and season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve immediately scattered with parmesan and drizzled with olive oil.
SHAREPIN
  • undefined: Robert Marchetti