Pasta e fagioli

La cucina piccola fal la casa grande - A small kitchen makes the house big.

There is nothing quite like sitting down with the family for a hearty dinner of pasta e fagioli when the days are growing shorter and a cool breeze has chilled the house just enough to justify putting on a warm sweater. Tonight was one of those nights and as I sit writing this my stomach and my heart have been warmed with the joy of comfort food. As I said in my last post some of the best food is the simplest.

If you have never made pasta bean soup you are missing out on one of life's simplest pleasures. It can be made how ever you desire but my normal base is made with the following ingredients. Sauteed diced onion, celery and garlic once everything starts to soften I add diced peeled tomatoes, cannellini beans, chicken stock and season with dried oregano, diced fresh parsley, salt and pepper. Tonight we topped our soup with grilled chicken and pecorino romano. Tonight the kids opted for pipette as the pasta because it holds more broth than elbows or the traditional ditalini.  I love having a nice crostini with my soup but tonight I opted to toast the left over rolls we had from dinner the other night and topped it with the caponata I made this weekend. Now for some cuddle time with the wife and as the old Italian proverb says: "A tavola non si invecchia" - At the table with good friends and family you do not become old.