Best Italian Pasta Fagioli (Pasta Fazool)

Best Italian Pasta Fagioli Recipe - An Awesome Vegetarian Soup! #PastaFagioli #PastaVaZool #VegetarianSoup

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Pasta Fagioli or Pasta e Fagioli is yet another family favorite that Annette grew up with that’s been passed down for 3 or 4 generations. This is an easy recipe that is great to cook up on a cold fall or winter’s night. Pasta e Fagioli is a comfort food for us . . . it’s hard to stop eating it.

How do you say Pasta E Fagioli or Pasta Fagioli? Is it Pasta Fazool or Pasta Fajioli?

An interesting thing about the name Pasta E Fatioli, it wasn’t until we were compiling family recipes that we found out the proper spelling and pronunciation for this recipe. We always called it Pasta Fazool! But the proper pronunciation is Pasta e Fagioli (the “G” sounds like a “J”), and you need to pinch together your thumb with your index, middle and ring fingers and holding your hand just a little below your chin move your hand front to back from your wrist as you say it. Click hear how to say it properly. But no matter how you pronounce it, this is one delicious recipe.

Our mispronunciation came as a result of listening to the Dean Martin rendition of the song That’s Amore see the lyrics below the recipe along with a video clip of Dean Martin singing (and mispronouncing Pasta Fazool because song writers Harry Warren and Jack Brooks were trying to rhyme the word drool in the song). 

PASTA FAGIOLI OR PASTA E FAGIOLI RECIPE

Ingredients:

  • 2 Cans Cannelli Beans or small white beans (use everything in the can, including the bean sludge, for flavor)
  • 1-15 oz Can Tomato Sauce
  • 5-6 Garlic Cloves, diced or chopped
  • Enough Olive Oil to cover bottom of a 6 or 8 quart pot
  • 1 lb. Ditallini or Elbow Macaroni

Directions:

  • Put up pot of water to boil for pasta.
  • Take your 6-8 quart pot and use just enough olive oil to cover the bottom. Dice or chop Garlic and lightly brown in Olive Oil.
  • When Garlic is lightly golden, add entire cans of beans and the whole can of Tomato Sauce.
  • Add Salt and Pepper to taste and bring to boil and then reduce flame to a simmer.
  • Cook Pasta in a separate pot for 10 – 12 minutes.
  • When Pasta is cooked remove half of the water and set aside. Then pour contents of bean mixture into pasta and water.
  • Stir and add more of the set aside pasta water if the Pasta E Fagioli seems very thick.

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And you can also get a bunch of our Vegetarian Recipes too.

Scene from the movie “The Caddy” starring Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin

We love this Dean Martin CD that contains some of his most popular songs including That’s Amore which mentions Pasta Fagioli.

Dean Martin album cover where he sings That's Amore - about Pasta Fagioli or pasta fazool

 

That’s Amore Lyrics

(In Napoli where love is king
When boy meets girl here’s what they say)

When a moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie
That’s amore
When the world seems to shine like you’ve had too much wine
That’s amore
Bells will ring ting-a-ling-a-ling, ting-a-ling-a-ling
And you’ll sing “Vita bella”
Hearts will play tippy-tippy-tay, tippy-tippy-tay
Like a gay tarantella

When the stars make you drool just like a pasta fazool
That’s amore
When you dance down the street with a cloud at your feet
You’re in love
When you walk in a dream but you know you’re not dreaming signore
Scuzza me, but you see, back in old Napoli
That’s amore

(When a moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie
That’s amore
When the world seems to shine like you’ve had too much wine
That’s amore
Bells will ring ting-a-ling-a-ling, ting-a-ling-a-ling
And you’ll sing “Vita bella”
Hearts will play tippy-tippy-tay, tippy-tippy-tay
Like a gay tarantella, lucky fella

Songwriters
HARRY WARREN, JACK BROOKS

Author: Annette Economides
Scottsdale, AZ

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