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Nothing Says 'Welcome Home' Like Pasta E Fagioli

Photo by MICHELLE BAKER

Need to fill your belly with some old-fashioned comfort food? Try Pasta e Fagiolo after bad food on a business trip.

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By GREG and MICHELLE BAKER

Tribune correspondents

Published: July 22, 2008

Updated: 07/22/2008 07:44 pm

We recently returned from a way-too-long restaurant consultation two-thirds of the way across the country.

While our business may be a little different than most, business travel is the same: Hotels that promise to be "stunning" yet are always under construction. Rental cars that never quite suit. (In this case, we were stuck with a minivan. Although I'm quite certain no one who saw us laughed derisively at the hulking, tattooed guy climbing out of a Grand Caravan, we do have a certain modicum of street cred to maintain - and a minivan doesn't help.)

And, finally, there's the bad food. Oh, the horrors that can be found while limited to eating only after 11 p.m. in the land of aspiring chain concepts - fish-tasting crab cake sliders, cartilage-filled pulled pork and potato-wrapped faux Southwestern spring rolls stand out painfully in our minds.

Like all weary business travelers upon returning home, we craved familiarity and comfort in our surroundings and food. We wanted to sleep in our own bed, pet our puppies and fill our bellies with good comfort food.

One of our favorites in that department is the classic Italian pasta e fagioli. Little ditalini pasta hoops swim with the richness of tomatoes, prosciutto, pancetta, garlic, oregano, basil and the master of all beans, the cannellini. Sometimes shortened to "pasta fazool," this simple, working-class dish packs comfort and tons of flavor in its humble ingredients.

While the ingredient list of tomatoes, pasta, meat and olive oil might make one turn up his or her nose with a "meh," buying quality ingredients makes all the difference between bland gruel and delicious heartiness. Choose a quality-canned tomato (we prefer Tutto Rosso or Dei Fratelli). Castellano & Pizzo Italian Market has an excellent selection of proscuitto, pancetta and olive oils. Fresh herbs are always a better choice than dried and, finally, there's pasta.

Tangent time: There seems to be an elitism surrounding fresh versus dried pastas. Dried pasta does not equal bad pasta. The vital components of pasta are the quality of your semolina flour, technique and, most importantly, the quality of the water that comes out of your tap - it had better be good. If you don't have all three of these at your disposal, you might just want to trust the pasta making to the folks who do have them - and years of experience in only making pasta as their profession. Buy a good one; Barilla makes the grade and is found in most local supermarkets.

The next time business requires travel, we will put ye olde Food Vacuum Sealer to good use and really make airport security scratch their heads as we have decided to pre-make all of our food. It's worth the additional checked baggage fee just to be able to have a little bit of home wherever we are forced to go.

Make a lot; leftovers are to die for.
PASTA E FAGIOLI
1/4 pound pancetta, diced into small cubes

1/4 pound proscuitto, diced into small cubes

4 garlic cloves, sliced thin

1/2 onion, diced

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 (15.5-ounce) cans cannellini beans (or use an equal amount of dried beans soaked in water over night)

1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes or whole peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand

1 quart chicken stock

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 lb small pasta such as ditalini or lumachine (elbows)

1 teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped

1 teaspoon fresh basil, chopped

1 teaspoon Italian parsley, chopped

Optional garnishes: olive oil or grated pecorino Romano

In a large pot, saute the pancetta, proscuitto, garlic and onion in the olive oil until the onions are translucent and the meats are slightly browned (about 4 to 5 minutes).

Add the beans, tomatoes and chicken stock to the pan, and simmer until the beans are soft (about 11/2 hours).

Adjust the salt and pepper to your taste, and add the pasta, oregano, basil and Italian parsley; cook until just al dente (4 to 8 minutes, depending on the pasta that you've chosen).

Check the salt and pepper again, and serve in bowls immediately, topped with a drizzle of olive oil or freshly grated pecorino Romano, accompanied by some hearty bread, such as pugliese or focaccia.

Greg Baker is a classically trained executive chef with more than 20 years of trendsetting restaurant experience. Greg and Michelle are co-owners of Cooks and Company Personal Chef and Catering. Go to www.cooksncompany.com or www.culinarysherpas.com.

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