Pasta e Fagioli & giveaway winner

The staples from the upholstery job are all counted and came out to 295. If you include the hardware, it was 358! So, the winner is... my sweet friend Heidi from The Pretty Poppy (a very talented girl)! Thanks to you all for entering! Looking forward to more future giveaways!

Have you ever been to an Italian Market? I LOVE them. Right before we left Miami, I stumbled upon a darling Italian market with rows upon rows of cookies, eclair's, cannoli's, fresh pasta, fabulous deli meats and cheese's hanging from the ceiling, and aisles of imported pastas, olive oils, vinegars, and sauces. I really feel that a few ounces here and there of their flavorful cheeses and meats are a great way to inexpensively add standout taste to otherwise simple meals. I was so happy to find an excellent Italian market in Phoenix recently! A nice Italian gentleman followed me around the store, giving samples of fresh ground Italian sausage, smoked mozzarella, and cannoli cream- mmmm. The Italian owner walked through, educating me on his favorites, gave me a sweet "Ciao" as I left, and then ran outside to my car to make sure I had their menu.

I wanted to make a great Pasta E Fagioli the way I envisioned the hearty pasta soup- somewhat thick, full of flavor, and filled with texture. I used Giada De Laurentiis's Pasta e Fagioli recipe as an outline and added a few things, mainly, crushed tomatoes with sauce, and it added such great flavor. This might be my new favorite soup!

At the Italian market, I bought a few ounces of pancetta (an Italian-style bacon), imported San Marzano tomatoes (a must for putting this soup over the top), and kale (one of, if not the most, nutritious vegetable- which I normally don't like but was great in this soup!). The little white thing is fresh rosemary/ dried bay leaf wrapped in cheesecloth- a little bouquet garni.

Browning the pancetta, olive oil, onions, garlic, and crushed red pepper (so good in this soup)

After adding chicken broth, crushed whole tomatoes with sauce, kidney beans, kale, and three different shaped pasta's for texture- annelini from the Italian market, shells, and rotini (Some Omega-3 rotini with tri-colored rotini because I can't tell the difference)

There is so much texture and flavor in this hearty soup!

Topped with some freshly shaven parmesan

And, of course, we had to finish it off with cannoli!! Sometimes the shells are so thick and fried, but this was perfect and the cream was the best I've tasted. Buon Appetito!

Pasta E Fagioli (Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis)

Ingredients

• 1 large sprig fresh rosemary

• 1 bay leaf

• 1 tablespoon olive oil plus 1 tablespoon butter (if you like, I used only olive).

• 1 cup chopped onion- I used 2 small onions

• 3 ounces pancetta, chopped

• 3 cloves fresh garlic

• 3 cans low-sodium chicken broth

• 2 (14.5-ounce) cans red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

• 1 (28 ounce) can San Marzano certified tomatoes (picked by hand in Italy, they really make a difference if you can get them at an Italian Market or specialty store- I have made this soup using regular and it wasn't close to as good.)

• I used 1/2 cup annelini, 3/4 cup assorted rotini, & 1/3 cup shells for texture (or use whatever assortment you like.) Giada uses elbow macaroni.

• Freshly ground black pepper

• Pinch red pepper flakes, optional- I used about 1/2 tsp or a bit more- not too spicy, but adds so much to the soup-delicious!

• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

Wrap the rosemary and bay leaf in a piece of cheesecloth and secure closed with kitchen twine. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and butter in a heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, pancetta, and garlic and saute until the onion is tender, about 6-8 minutes. Add one large container San Marzano or high quality whole peeled tomatoes and crush by hand. Add the broth, beans, and sachet of herbs. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat, then decrease the heat to medium and simmer until the beans are more tender, about 10 minutes.

Discard the sachet. Puree 1 1/2 cups of the bean mixture in a blender until smooth* (I love using the magic bullet for small blends like this. Don't worry if you get more than beans in the blend. You can remove any of the pancetta fat at this point if you like).

Put the puree back in, add the pasta (I really recommend using a few different types of pasta for texture), and boil with the lid on until it is tender but still firm to the bite, about 7-8 minutes, as the pasta will continue to soften. Five minutes or so after adding the pasta, I added finely chopped kale, about 2- 2 1/2 cups. Stir well. Season the soup with ground black pepper and more red pepper flakes if you love the heat.

Ladle the soup into bowls. Sprinkle with some Parmesan and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil just before serving (I only added parmesan.) Serve with crusty bread or garlic bread!

*When blending hot liquids: Remove liquid from the heat and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes. Transfer liquid to a blender or food processor and fill it no more than halfway. If using a blender, release one corner of the lid. This prevents the vacuum effect that creates heat explosions. Place a towel over the top of the machine, pulse a few times then process on high speed until smooth.