Neapolitan-American Pasta e Fagioli
(pah-stuh eh fah-zool)
Chapter 3 — The Pastas
Pasta e fagioli began as a humble peasant staple in Campania, a clever way for farmers to stretch beans and broken pasta scraps. But when those recipes crossed the Atlantic to the red-sauce joints of New York and Brooklyn, they hit the culinary lottery. Suddenly, there was sweet Italian sausage, heavy pours of crushed tomatoes, and mountains of Parmigiano. This is a proudly unapologetic, deeply American stew. The trick is boiling the ditalini directly in the broth—a Neapolitan technique that releases starches into the fat to create a thick, clinging, majestic gravy. Apologize to no one for the excess; just serve it with a heavy hand of cheese and a loaf of foil-wrapped, steam-softened garlic bread.
Ingredients
- Extra-virgin olive oil2 tbsp
- Sweet Italian pork sausage1 lb
- Yellow onion1 large
- Carrots2 med
- Celery stalks2 med
- Garlic cloves6 large
- Crushed red pepper flakes1 tsp
- Tomato paste3 tbsp
- Crushed tomatoes28 oz
- Chicken broth6 cup
- Parmigiano-Reggiano rind1 large
- Fresh rosemary sprig1 small
- Fresh thyme sprigs2 small
- Bay leaf1 small
- Cannellini beans15 oz
- Dark red kidney beans15 oz
- Ditalini pasta1 1/2 cup
- Kosher salt1 tsp
- Freshly ground black pepper1 tsp
- Parmigiano-Reggiano1/2 cup
- Fresh flat-leaf parsley1/4 cup
Method
- 01
Brown the sweet Italian pork sausage in a large Dutch oven until a deep crust forms.
Place the Dutch oven over medium-high heat with the olive oil. Once shimmering, add the sausage, breaking it into bite-sized crumbles. Let it cook undisturbed to develop the Maillard reaction, then remove it with a slotted spoon.
- 02
Sauté the onion, carrots, and celery in the rendered pork fat.
Lower the heat to medium. Add the vegetables directly into the fat, season with salt and pepper, and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom until everything is deeply softened and translucent.
- 03
Toast the tomato paste, garlic, and red pepper flakes.
Push the vegetables to the perimeter of the pot. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, and tomato paste to the center, cooking until the paste darkens from bright red to a deep, rusty brick color, then stir to coat the vegetables.
- 04
Build the broth with the tomatoes, chicken stock, beans, and the browned sausage.
Return the sausage to the pot, then pour in the crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, cannellini beans, and dark red kidney beans.
- 05
Add the aromatics and simmer gently for nearly an hour.
Drop in the Parmigiano-Reggiano rind, rosemary, thyme, and bay leaf. Bring to a rolling boil, then reduce the heat to the lowest setting, partially cover, and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour to emulsify the fat and break down the tomatoes.
- 06
Cook the ditalini directly in the bubbling stew.
Remove the herb stems and cheese rind, bringing the heat up to a lively simmer. Stir in the dry pasta, cooking it in the broth so it releases its starches and thickens the liquid into a clinging gravy known in Naples as the azzeccata technique.
- 07
Turn off the heat and let the stew rest covered for ten minutes.
This resting phase is crucial. It allows the starches to settle and the pasta to absorb the last bit of moisture, transforming the dish from a loose soup into a thick, majestic stew.
- 08
Serve immediately with a heavy hand of cheese and olive oil.
Ladle the thick Pasta Fazool into wide, shallow bowls. Top with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, chopped parsley, and a generous drizzle of high-quality extra-virgin olive oil.
Notes
Save your cheese rinds.
Never throw away the rinds from your box-grated Parmigiano; dropping a seemingly inedible rind into the simmering broth releases a deep, nutty sodium profile and naturally thickens the stew.
Reheating realities.
Because the pasta stays in the liquid, it will absorb almost all the remaining moisture overnight. When reheating the next day, add a splash of chicken broth or water to loosen the colloidal starch matrix back into a stew.
From Cook Red Sauce at Home.