Guiseppe Romano’s Pasta Fagioli Recipe
Guiseppe Romano’s pasta fagioli recipe is one of the Romano family’s favorite top secret recipes for comfort food. We have a few different versions of making it.
The mouth watering pasta fagioli recipe below is my father Joseph’s. He uses his own Romano beans grown to this day from seeds preserved from Italy all these years later. He has kept up the tradition of growing Romano beans year after year always making sure enough beans were dried and ready to be planted the following season.
Romano Beans
You have never tasted a better green bean in your life, guaranteed! In the fall, we leave a large harvest on the vines until they are fat and dry in the shell. Then all winter we enjoy dried Romano beans in a variety of dishes. They are full of fibre and a good meat replacement.
This hearty soup is great served with garlic toast.
Note: You can substitute dried pinto beans for dried Romano beans or canned Romano beans. (which can be purchased at most supermarkets)
Michele Romano Recipes
Pasta Fagioli Recipe
Cook dried beans (rinse beans)
- 3 small pieces of bacon rind or salt pork for flavor
- 1-1/2 cups of dried Romano beans or pinto beans
- Cover beans completely with water
- 1-1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 an onion chopped up small
Place beans in medium size pot, completely cover with water
Add salt and bacon rind/salt pork
Cover and cook at medium heat for 1 hr
Add the chopped onions and let simmer for another hour until beans are cooked.
Note: Make sure water does not boil out of beans. Juice level should be close to the top of the beans when finished cooking.
Recipe for Pasta Fagioli Sauce
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil in large pot
- Slice 3-4 garlic cloves in half
- 2 tbsp oregano
- 2 tbsp basil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 large can tomato juice
- Previously cooked Romano beans with juice or 1 large can of Unico Romano beans (if using canned)
Preparation:
- Blacken garlic cloves in oil
- Add oregano and basil
- Saute a bit and add tomato juice and salt
- Add can of Romano beans or desired amount of cooked beans (with bean juice) to tomato sauce
- Simmer for 10 minutes or so
- 1-1/2 cups of macaroni or Rotini
- Bring to a boil and cook until firm
- Add macaroni to sauce and beans (remember too much noodles soak up your juice) I usually keep my pasta separate.
- Serve hot with grated parmesan or Romano cheese
Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 30 min or add 2 hrs if cooking dried beans
Serves: 6
Live Long and Mangia!
Nutritional Facts
Extra virgin olive oil – is derived from the first pressing of the olives and has the most delicate flavor and many antioxidant benefits.
Oregano – is loaded with health benefits. It is known to be an effective anti-bacterial. It also has potent anti-oxidant activity.
Basil – has been shown to help in the treatment of a range of symptoms, including: digestive disorders, inflammation,infection, diabetes, heart disease and headaches
Beans – contain a variety of vitamins and minerals including calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, potassium, and folate. They are considered a vegetable, but contain the valuable protein that is often associated with meat.
For more on eating healthy, I find The Health Benefits Times very informative.