Poor Mans Pasta Fagioli
Future Reference:
I am not a purist when it comes to being vegan,so i will use things like canned chicken stock and such .. .
You guys can substitute whatever it is you use for your stock in such cases.
So forgive me when i post those things.
Blanket apologies for this indiscretion ,now..
But here ya go ..
This makes 2 healthy sized portions,or 3-4 bird like eater portions .
It lasts me 2 days .
Measure out a nice healthy helping of smaller sized pasta ,like ditalini , small shells,wheels .
About a cup + 1/2 cups worth .
Throw these in boiling water,with or without salt.
I cook pasta unsalted ,but this was because i had adjusted my cooking for my moms health needs,and then i got used to low low salt cooking,but salt away to your hearts content.
Then find the really old sun dried tomatoes sitting in her pantry, WAY at the back ,that you bought and forgot about, 2 years ago.
Take out about 10-12 of them and cut them into 1/2 inch pieces .
I usually use the ones NOT in oil ,but this is a personal prefernece .You can use the ones in oil for sure though .
Set aside in a little dishie .
Heat up about 2 tables spoons of olive oil in a pan,,,throw in 2-3 chopped up garlic cloves.
You can do less,but i like garlic .
If the mood hits you ,you can also add a bit of chopped up onion here,about 1/2 a small onion is about right ,but this is optional if you dont like onions.
I add them myself .
You can also add a bit of chopped up red bell pepper here too.This is a matter of taste. I dont add peppers to mine myself.But you can ,if you want to burp them all night .
Throw that all together in the pan, and saute until they all start to wilt a bit.
Then add the sun dried tomatoes .
Here i salt and pepper to taste,and i add a heathy pinch or 2 ,of crushed hot red pepper flakes.
Let this all get hot and dry at the bottom .Lower the heat ,and then keep adding HOT water to it now,so it doesnt burn .I do this by adding the hot boiling pasta water with a ladel,like 2 ladels full at a time.
This will make a nice sauce .
At this point ,add one can of strained and rinsed White Cannelli beans .
stir stir
Cover and let simmer ,and add water again if need be .
stir stir
Watch it so it doesnt burn at the bottom .
Once the pasta is done (i like it a bit al dente) ,strain it ,and turn the heat off the veggies pan .
Here we dump the pasta into the pan with all the veggies..
toss toss..
Salt and pepper a bit more if you need it to taste.
You can also drizzle a bit a virgin olive oil on top ,and a dash of chopped parsley ,to top it off at the very end if you like.
EAT !!
You can put cheeze on top of this,but i find that blasphmeous ,but it would make it more trashy ..
Current Mood: 
hungry 
cheerful