An Amish Giveaway and Pasta Fagioli

The winner of this past weeks giveaway for the Fall/Halloween decorations is: Rox

I put together a basket full of Amish things from the trip for this weeks giveaway. It is filled with all sorts of goodies I picked up on the trip.


To enter: leave a comment on this post. If you are not already a follower, sign on to follow.


This book full of Amish information is included in the basket. The winner will be announced next Saturday morning and a new giveaway will be posted at that time. Please make sure that I have a way to contact you if you enter.


My daughter requested that I make some pasta fagioli. When my kids were young they always ordered this at their favorite Italian restaurant. The day I made it the temps zoomed back to the 80's. It was still excellent even with the hot temps.


I missed a few of the first pics. I started by frying 4 oz. of pancette in a bit of olive oil. Then I add a large diced onion, 5 cloves of diced garlic, 4 T. of diced fresh rosemary and sprinkled in some red pepper flakes. Saute' this until the onions soften. Add two large cans of diced tomatoes. Muir Glen is my favorite brand. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add 3 or 4 cans of beans. I used assorted beans and lentils. Add 3 bay leaves. Then add 3 quarts of beef stock.


The secret to a good fagioli or almost any soup for that matter is this; cheese rind. I always save and freeze the rinds from all of my cheeses. In this recipe I used 4 large pieces of Parmesan rind. It holds together but really adds flavor to the soup. Remove after cooking and discard.


Simmer the soup over low heat for about 30 minutes.


Choose the pasta you want to use. I used small shells. You want to use a pasta that will pick up some of the ingredients with each spoonful.


Give the soup a good stir.


Then bring the soup to a boil.


Add the uncooked pasta. Turn the heat down and simmer for 2 minutes. Then turn the heat off, stir and let it sit for about 20 minutes.


I stirred in a bit if Maggi for added flavor. Taste it and see what it needs. You can also add some beef bouillon for added punch.


Chop us some fresh kale and stir it into the soup. Add a cup of fresh parsley too.


Cover and let it sit until the kale has softened but still has a bit of a bite to it.


Mmmmm...now I just need some cold weather and some toasted garlic bread. And a sprinkling of grated Parmesan for the top!