Monday, April 20, 2009

Grandpa's Pasta I Fazol: You Say Tomato, I Say No Tomato

Today is Monday, and in this part of the world that means red beans with rice, but my family usually made red beans the Dalmatian way - soupy with pasta.

My Grandpa, Mato (Mike) Soljan cooked this when he was out on the boats. It's one of those big, one pot dishes that's good for feeding a hungry ship crew - or a crew of six hungry kids.

My Aunt Dolores submitted this recipe to the Slavonian Lodge's cookbook several years ago. She and my Uncle Michael make it with tomatoes. My mother always swore that Grandpa never put tomatoes in it, and she never put them in hers. I don't think she put celery in either. Whatever. It's good both ways.

I usually sub out chicken broth for the tomatoes and half of the water and add some garlic, bay leaf, rosemary and thyme for oomph. If I don't have a ham bone, I use bacon or pancetta for a smokier flavor, and saute it with the onion, celery and garlic in olive oil before adding it to the soup and cook the whole dish about half as long as Grandpa's recipe with raw ham calls for. If you don't want to put the potato in, just puree some of the cooked beans and broth and add back to the soup to get the same texture.

You can use any pasta. Elbow macaroni is traditional, but I like the twists with ridges; they grab the sauce better. I also add freshly grated Parmesan and drizzle some olive oil on it just before serving. I think of it as perfecting a classic.

2 cans red kidney beans
1 ham bone with lots of meat ( or chopped bacon)
1 large onion chopped
1 stalk celery chopped (if you don't want to put this in add another chopped onion)
1 16 oz can tomatoes with juices chopped (or sub chicken broth)
1 T fresh or dried parsley (or rosemary, thyme and 1 bay leaf tied in bouquet garni in muslin)
1 large white potato peeled and cubed
8-10 cups of water (or 5 cups of water and 5 cups of chicken broth)
salt and pepper to taste
3 oz pasta

Combine all of the ingredients, except the pasta, in a large soup pot. Simmer 1 1/2 hours or until the meat leaves the bone. Add the pasta the last 15 minutes of cooking time. Adjust the amount of pasta to how thick you like your soup.

3 comments:

  1. My daddy used to make this and all my cousins and sisters, can never get this recipe right.. but i got it now... many ,many memories........he taugt us how to cook this since the mid sixties... andrea

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  2. Cathy,
    My name is Gabriel Thomas, I am the son of Rhonda Soljan, daughter of Raymond Soljan Sr. and Peggy Soljan Sr.

    I found your page through a google search of 'soljan'.
    I was wondering if you have any of the full size pictures of the family that you could send me.
    My email address is gabesthomas@hotmail.com
    We'd love to have you give us a call. Email me for our phone number.

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  3. Cathy - you are the bomb....we just moved to a different house a month ago and I cannot find Nana's cookbook...buried in unpacked boxes still I am sure....I just knew you would have this recipe on your blog! YAY! Made a ham for teachers and ingrained in my head is when there is ham bone....2 hours later there is Mato's Pasta Fazol! Thank you!!! deedee

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