I like to think of fagioli as a little bowl of Italian sunshine.
It's too hot to cook, too hot almost to even think about eating. But I can't get the food of Tuscany out of my mind...
In Italy we were served luscious fagioli, soaked in olio, and in Siena, fagioli arranged on bread bruschetta-style. They're a perfect side dish for pasta, and when the weather's hot, what can be easier—and cooler—than opening a can of beans, tossing in some garlic, and pouring on a glug or two extra virgin olive oil?
The garlic, I admit, is my own touch, because I like garlic. I hear it's good for you too.
I also like my fagioli heated just a bit, so I popped the bowl in the microwave, but it would be good cold too.
Especially when the temperature is in the nineties. It's looking more and more like Italy around here.
Now if only a cute Italian waiter would pop round with a glass of Chianti in his hand...
Fagioli
Open and rinse one can of cannellini beans (or used dried and follow package directions). Add two cloves of chopped garlic, and a glug or two of olive oil. Optional: Warm for a minute in the microwave.
Add chopped Italian parsley and stir.
Serve on thin slices of ciabatta bread, or as a side dish with pasta.
Note on ingredients: Cannellini beans are white kidney beans; you can substitute white northern beans. A glug is as much as you want it to be. I like my olive oil in vast quantities, so a glug for me is about two tablespoons.
