Pasta E Fagioli

One thing you really miss when you commit to a low acid diet is cooked tomatoes.  You fear that you will never be able to eat Italian food again!  In reality, Italian cooking can be done without tomatoes quite nicely, but nothing ever really makes up for the color.  Yesterday I was contemplating making a pasta e fagioli soup, which would be sad without its reddish-orange broth, and I had an idea.  Why not substitute pureed sweet potato for the called-for tomato sauce?  The color and gentle sweetness of the sweet potato make it a viable substitute.  Yams are perfectly welcome too.

Lo and behold, it turned out better than I could have possibly hoped, with the pasta, vegetables, and beans suspended perfectly in a slightly thick and sweet reddish-orange broth.  I bet I’m not the first to think of this, and maybe I picked it up unconsciously while thumbing through a cookbook or surfing the net.  Never underestimate the power of hypnotic suggestion!

One big factor in the deliciousness was my homemade stock, which you are probably sick of hearing about by now.  But it’s so easy!  Just save up all your leftover vegetable and herb stems, or any leftover vegetable matter, in a sealed container in the freezer for up to a week.  Once you’ve stockpiled enough trimmings, stems, and stalks, (which won’t be long if you’re on a plant-based diet!) boil in a stockpot for 30 minutes and then strain the liquid into a large bowl(s) to cool.   Use hot or store in jars in the fridge, and you’ll notice the rich taste of your own broth is a little different every time, and a perfect compliment to the foods you like to make.  It took me years to try this, but now I’m never going back.  You really get your money’s worth out of your produce this way.

We’ll be eating this rich, filling soup for days.  I went a little crazy with the herbs but they really help bring out the flavor, since onions and peppers are off limits.  Dry sautéing the carrots and celery is an option if you want no fat in it.

Ingredients:

2 cups whole-wheat pasta (chiocciole)

1 large sweet potato, cubed

1 T olive oil

2 medium carrots sliced thinly on the diagonal

2 stalks celery trimmed and diced

1 tsp garlic powder (or less)*

2 tsps dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried thyme

2 tsps marjoram

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp coriander

salt to taste

2 cups kidney beans

4 cups vegetable stock

2 cups frozen sliced green beans

chopped cilantro for garnish

nutritional yeast (optional)

Directions:

1. Boil salted water for pasta and cook 11 minutes or according to package directions.  Drain, without rinsing, and set aside.
2. Boil water in a small pot and cook cubed sweet potato 5+ minutes, until very soft.  Put softened cubes into food processor, puree, and set aside.
3. Heat oil in a 4-quart saucepan over medium heat.  When heated up add carrots and celery and sauté for 3 or 4 minutes, until softened but not cooked through.
4. Stir in herbs, spices, and salt and sauté briefly for 30 seconds to a minute.
5. Add beans, vegetable stock and bring to a boil.  Cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
6. Stir in pasta, pureed sweet potato and beans.  When mixed well let simmer for 5 more minutes or until heated through and veggies are soft.
7. Serve hot, garnished with chopped cilantro (or any fresh herb you like).  I liked it with a bit of nutritional yeast sprinkled over like grated cheese, but hey, we all are different.

*Note on the garlic powder: it seems to me the juice of the raw garlic is what aggravates acid, and the dehydrated version eliminates this and allows you to use much less.