Paste E Fagioli With Roasted Garlic Recipes

Steps:

• Place the tomatoes in a medium bowl and poke small holes in them with a fork or paring knife. (This will prevent them from exploding and shooting seeds everywhere when you crush them.) Crush the tomatoes with your hands, a potato masher or a fork, and break them up into small pieces. Set aside.
• Stir 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons oil and half of the garlic in a small bowl and let sit until ready to use.
• Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons oil in a heavy-bottomed large pot over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, celery, onions, remaining garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes, bay leaves, 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender and just begin to brown, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Add the reserved tomatoes and any accumulated juices and cook until the liquid evaporates, about 3 minutes. Add the chicken broth, cover and bring to a boil. Cook until the vegetables are just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Add the beans, kale and pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta and kale are tender, about 9 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the garlic toast. Brush the top of each slice of bread with the reserved garlic oil, pushing the garlic into the crumb of the bread. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and melt 1 tablespoon butter. Add half of the bread, oiled-side up, and cook until deep golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Flip and cook until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. (You want this side slightly less toasted so that the garlic doesn't burn and taste bitter.) Transfer to a platter and repeat with the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and bread.
• Stir the parsley into the soup and season with salt, if necessary. Divide among bowls and top with a drizzle of olive oil, some shaved Parmesan and cracked black pepper. Serve with the garlic toast.

Steps:

• Heat oil in 4-quart Dutch oven over medium heat until hot. Add onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes or until onion is tender.
• Add undrained tomatoes, undrained cannellini beans, chicken broth, parsley, basil and pepper to Dutch oven and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally. Let boil for approximately 1 minute and then let simmer for 10 minutes, covered.
• Add pasta to Dutch oven and simmer approximately 10 to 12 minutes or until pasta is tender. Serve immediately and enjoy.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut off the top 1/4 inch of the head of garlic to expose the top of the cloves, then place on a piece of foil, cut-side up. Sprinkle exposed cloves with salt, then drizzle with 1 teaspoon oil. Wrap the garlic in the foil and roast until soft and golden brown, 40 to 50 minutes.
• When you're ready to make the pasta, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Finely chop the parsley leaves. Add pasta to the boiling water and cook according to package instructions until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water, then drain the pasta.
• While the pasta cooks, in a large Dutch oven or skillet, heat the remaining 1/2 cup oil over medium heat. Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves into the oil and cook, breaking them up with your spoon, until very fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the red-pepper flakes and a few generous grinds of pepper. Remove the pan from the heat to infuse the oil while the pasta finishes cooking.
• When the pasta's done, heat the garlic oil over medium, then add the cooked pasta, 1/2 cup reserved pasta water and the parsley, and simmer, tossing constantly and adding more pasta water as needed, until the pasta is glossed with sauce.
• Serve with more red-pepper flakes, black pepper and Parmesan.