This Italian Pasta with Beans and Sausage is based on a regional dish in the Umbria region of Italy called Gnocchetti alla Collescipolana! It's a 'Pasta e Fagioli' recipe featuring onion, beans and sausage.
2sausagescrumbled (casings removed) — NOT 'Italian sausage' but something closer to a German sausage (see notes)
¾cupwhite winedry
2cupstomato puree
15ozbeans with liquidborlotti or pinto
1pinchchili pepper flakesor to taste
½tspfine saltor to taste
½cupolive oilextra virgin — or as needed
10tbsppecorino cheese(optional)
300gditalini(optional) or another short tube pasta—if you are not making the fresh gnocchetti pasta
Instructions
Make the Gnocchetti Pasta (Optional)
See our gnocchetti recipe to learn how to make the fresh pasta for this recipe!
1 ½ cups flour, 1 cup water, 1 cup fine breadcrumbs
Fry the Sausage
Fry the crumbled sausage over medium heat in a skillet (casings removed). You won't need any additional oil as the sausage will release its own fat. If you like, you can fry some pancetta (cured pork belly) with the sausage as well.
2 sausages
Once the sausage is browned, set it aside.
Sauté the Vegetables
Cover a large pan or skillet with olive oil, over medium heat.
½ cup olive oil
Add the minced celery, carrot and onion and sauté them in the olive oil until the onion is tender and translucent.
1 carrot, 1 onion, 3 ribs celery
Add the white wine and cook until the wine has evaporated. This de-glazes the pan, pulling all of that fat and flavor off of the bottom of the pan and into the sauce.
¾ cup white wine
Make the Sauce
Add the beans (with liquid from the can) and tomato puree to the sautéed vegetables.
15 oz beans with liquid, 2 cups tomato puree
Simmer (covered) over medium heat for about 10 minutes to let the flavors combine. Add salt and red pepper to taste.
½ tsp fine salt, 1 pinch chili pepper flakes
Blend a ¼ of the sauce to a purée, then return it to the sauce— including roughly equal portions of everything (beans, veggies, liquid). Use a blender, food processor or immersion blender for this job.
Stir the fried sausage into the sauce.
Simmer the sauce for about an hour to reduce it, stirring occasionally to prevent the sauce from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Add a bit of extra water if needed to prevent the sauce from becoming too thick and dense.
Finish with Pasta
Cook the pasta of your choice (gnocchetti or ditalini) in salted, boiling water until the pasta is al dente.If cooking fresh gnocchetti pasta, cook them until they float to the surface—4-6 minutes. Combine the pasta with the bean sauce. Top with pecorino cheese (optional) and .. Buon appetito!
300 g ditalini, 10 tbsp pecorino cheese
Notes
Don't Use 'Italian' Sausage Here!Do not use so-called 'Italian' sausage for this recipe. The sausage labelled 'Italian' abroad is heavy in fennel. This is not common or popular in the vast majority of Italy, and is almost never the kind of sausage expected in traditional Italian recipes like this one.Instead, choose something closer to a German style sausage—a sausage with wine, garlic and salt and pepper.Don't want to make fresh pasta?The recipe that this dish is based on is traditionally served with a homemade pasta called gnocchetti! To make it, check out our gnocchetti recipe.Otherwise, use a short tube pasta like ditalini for this 'Pasta e Fagioli' recipe!