Laura Branca’s mother-in-law, Anne (Antonietta) Ricciuti DuCret, grew up in the Bronx during the 1920s. Her parents were Italian immigrants from the small town of Polla in the region of Campania and the tiny village of Crecchio in the region of Abruzzo. They always had a flourishing vegetable garden wherever they lived. Grandma Anne (as Laura’s sons Matt and Dan Branca call her) is the Branca family’s matriarch in the finest sense of that word, and an outstanding cook with the true gift of making traditional Italian dishes that are both light and incredibly flavorful. Nothing pleases her more than to show the family how to make her great recipes. Laura faithfully shares this one-dish Italian meal; it is inexpensive, nutritious, extremely satisfying, and very easy to make.
It’s already stocky enough to serve in soup plates, but if you prefer it as a soup, add 2 cups more stock.
Serves 6 to 8
Time: 30 minutes
½ teaspoon salt, plus more as needed
1 pound of your favorite short chunky pasta, such as penne, farfalle, orecchiette, elbows
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 generous cup chopped onions
1 cup diced celery
1 red or orange bell pepper, seeded and diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed
1 quart vegetable stock
1 (15-ounce) can navy beans
2 to 3 cups chopped baby kale (optional)
2 teaspoons minced fresh oregano, or 1 teaspoon dried
2 tablespoons minced fresh basil leaves, or 2 teaspoons dried
Bring a large covered pot of salted water to a boil for cooking the pasta. When it boils, add the pasta and cook until just al dente. Drain and set aside until ready to add to the soup.
Meanwhile, in a soup pot on medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the chopped onions and cook for a couple of minutes. Stir in the celery, bell pepper, garlic, salt, and black pepper, cover, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour in the stock, cover, and increase the heat to medium-high. When the soup is hot, add the navy beans including the liquid, the kale, if using, and the oregano and basil. Simmer gently until the beans are hot and the kale is soft. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper as needed.
• As this dish sits, the pasta absorbs more liquid. Add more stock when you reheat it.
• Grandma Anne freezes 1- or 2-portion leftovers in storage containers; it reheats beautifully.
Serve in soup or pasta bowls with a nice piece of crusty Italian bread with butter or olive oil. Garnish each serving with a few fresh basil and oregano leaves. You don’t need anything else to make a fine meal, but Grandma Anne would probably approve of some traditional Italian pickles, such as Giardiniera (page 342), on the table and maybe some Easy Lemon Butter Cookies to go with espresso later.