SC - Re: Petits Propos Culinaires

[Charles McCathieNevile]

LrdRas wrote:

> I tho't "Pasta Fazoul" (incorrect spelling) was composed of white kidney beans
> and garlic, olive oil and seasonings over pasta? Where does the tomato thingy
> come in?
> 
> Ras

Well, now that you mention it, I wasn't gonna say anything (in one of my
extremely rare brilliant flashes of tact), but you are right, I believe.

Pasta e fagioli (a.k.a. pasta e faeseoli, hence the pronunciation "pasta
fazoul"), is eaten all over Italy, with minor variations according to
locale. The further south you get, the more the tomato is featured in
the dish. That being said, though, at no time does the dish include a
standard "spaghetti" sauce of tomatoes.

The vegetable or meat-based cooking stock from the beans, a splash of
wine, some butter and/or olive oil beaten in, and some grated
parmaggiano or romano cheese (almost never both, in spite of the
peculiar products available in the supermarket) is the more usual sauce,
as far as I have seen. Sometimes tomatoes, to one degree or another, are
present as either a seasoning or a garnish.

As for a mixture of spaghetti with tomato sauce, and baked beans in
another tomato-ey sauce, I can only say that I'm not usually one to
knock something before I've tried it, so I ought not to comment too
much. On the other hand, sometimes you just realize how wrong you've
been, and have to break your own rules... .

I think I'd better go now ;  )

Adamantius
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