NEW YEAR'S "GOOD LUCK" PASTA FAZOOL

New Year's

It's a scientific fact that eating pork, beans, or greens at the beginning of a new year brings you great luck-just imagine if we put all three of those things together in a single dish. This is so satisfying and delicious that even if it brought me bad luck, I'd still make it. Best served with some crusty, toasted bread.

Provided by Chef John

Categories Soups, Stews and Chili Recipes Soup Recipes Noodle Soup Recipes

Time 1h5m

Yield 6

Number Of Ingredients 18

Previous Next

Ingredients

12 ounces bacon, sliced into 1-inch pieces
½ cup diced onion
½ cup diced celery
1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
¼ teaspoon dried thyme
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons tomato paste
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
1 large bunch Swiss chard
1 (15.5 ounce) can cannellini beans, drained
1 ¼ cups orecchiette pasta
1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, or to taste
1 drizzle olive oil
1 pinch red pepper flakes, or to taste

Steps:

Place a cold soup pot over medium heat. Add sliced bacon. Cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the fat has rendered out and the bacon begins to crisp up, about 5 minutes. Drain off most of the excess fat with a paper towel if desired, leaving about 1 tablespoon in the pot. Add onions, celery, and salt. Saute until and softened onions turn translucent, 5 to 7 minutes.
Stir in black pepper, cayenne, dried thyme, dried oregano, and tomato paste. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomato paste starts to caramelize onto the bottom of the pan, about 2 minutes. Add the minced garlic, and cook, stirring, for 1 to 2 more minutes. Stir in chicken broth and water and raise the heat to high. Bring to a simmer over high heat; reduce heat to medium and let simmer while you prep the Swiss chard.
Remove chard leaves from tough stems. Gather a handful of leaves and slice across in one direction; turn and slice across again. Repeat with remaining chard. Place into a bowl and fill with water. Swish around to remove dirt; transfer washed greens a handful at a time to another bowl to drain.
Stir the Swiss chard into the pot and simmer over medium heat until greens become tender, about 10 minutes. Season with salt.
Stir in the drained beans and raise the heat to high; bring to a boil. Stir in pasta and reduce heat to medium-high. Cook until the pasta is tender, stirring occasionally, 12 to 15 minutes.
Once the pasta is tender, check the seasoning. Serve immediately in large bowls. Garnish with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, a drizzle of olive oil, and red pepper flakes.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 293.3 calories, Carbohydrate 34.5 g, Cholesterol 25.3 mg, Fat 10 g, Fiber 5.6 g, Protein 16.9 g, SaturatedFat 2.9 g, Sodium 1761.5 mg, Sugar 3.3 g