What's in the fridge?

30-minute weekday dinner anyone? Say hello to Pasta Fagioli! “Fagioli” (fa-joli) means beans in Italian and this Blue Zone dish from Sardinia celebrates the humble bean.
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Did you know that people living the longest eat ½ to 1 cup of beans a day? So, if you want to up the quality of life, its good to get some beans into your diet. Try lentils or black-eyed peas for starters. They’re the least gassy.
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I made this dish with the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia today and they told me it snowed for the first day of the season today! So, a warm pasta bowl like this is the perfect dinner to snuggle up with.
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It comes together in 30 minutes or less and uses mostly pantry ingredients. It’s a simple preparation of sautéing veggies, tomatoes, and then adding the beans. I have to say the key ingredients here are the extra virgin olive oil and the pecorino or parmesan cheese. 

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Get your best extra virgin olive oil to drizzle at the end and grate some of that good cheese over too. Then, the dish feels decadent- not that “health food stuff”.
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Enjoy! Buon Appetito!
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• its even great the next day eaten like a cold pasta salad

• its a filling vegetarian or vegan meal

• it comes together in 30 minutes- a for a perfect weekday dinner

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30-minute Pasta Fagioli

INGREDIENTS (serves 4-6):

• ¼ lb orecchiette
• 1-2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 stalks fresh celery, chopped
• ½ cup chopped zucchini, chopped
• 1-2 cloves Fresh garlic, minced or garlic powder to taste
• 1 -2 cups cherry tomatoes
• 1 ½ cans great northern beans (or 3 cups cooked), drained
• ½ cup flat Italian parsley, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste
• ¼ cup pecorino cheese (optional)

Directions:

1. Bring a pot of water to boil to cook the pasta. Salt the water with about 1 Tbsp. salt or the water tastes like the sea. Boil the pasta until al dente, or there is a bite to it. Then, drain pasta, but reserve ½ cup pasta cooking water.
2. Chop and dice all the vegetables into a small size. Heat a large saute pan with 1 Tbsp. olive oil and add onion, celery, zucchini, garlic, and whole cherry tomatoes. Cook a few minutes, or until zucchini is just soft to the bite. Squash the cherry tomatoes with a spatula to release their juice.
3. Then, add cooked pasta to the pan with the veggies. Add the reserve ½ cup cooking water and the drained beans. Heat for 1-2 minutes and add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Finish with lots of chopped parsley, olive oil and cheese. (You could even zest some lemon on top- would be nice).