What Baba Cooked

Tracing back to Ancient Rome, the hearty combination of smoked ham and dried beans have long been a staple. We all have those foods that instantly summon comfort at the mere mention of them, and for my family, pašta fažol is one of those dishes. I’d go so far as to say that, along with juha and pašta šuta it forms the comfort food holy trinity.

This recipe started as something I made the way my Baba and mother-in-law did, but over the years has morphed into my own version. I’m pretty sure that the only things I really do differently are swapping dried beans for canned, and I add a ham hock for extra flavour, then shred the ham meat back into the finished soup. Their traditional versions would have been made with either smoked pork ribs or bones, or the bones and bits left when you’d finish off a whole prosciutto, but as they can be tricky to find, ham hocks and smoked sausages make life easier. Dried red kidney beans, soaked overnight and cooked for around an hour, would also be true to the authentic version.

And I can’t say the words pašta fažol without a special mention to my oldest son, who can down vats of this and never tire of it.

Our Family’s Pašta Fažol (Serves 6 adults, or one Adri)

What You’ll Need:

• The Smoked Meats: one ham hock and a few chorizo or kransky sausages depending on how many people you’re feeding; ham bones or smoked pork ribs can also be used. If cooking for a crowd the hock, sausages, and ribs would all be needed.
• Beans: 2 cans of either cannellini or borlotti beans (or feel free to use dried beans that require soaking – note they will need a much longer cooking time). Drain one can, leave the other in its liquid – that’s where the silkiness lives.
• Pasta: around 250g of small pasta like elbows or macaroni.
• The Flavour Base: Some olive oil, 1 small onion, 1 large carrot, and a few celery stalks, all finely diced.
• The Rest: 2 cloves of garlic (minced), a couple of peeled diced potatoes, and a squeeze of tomato paste. Some pepper, a teaspoon of smoked paprika, and be sparing with the salt as the meats can be salty. Go by taste and adjust towards the end. Feel free to use Vegeta instead of salt.
• Liquid: Enough vegetable or chicken broth to cover it all.
• To Finish: you may or may not need a little cornstarch mixed in water to thicken right at the end.

How to Make It:

1. Saute: Heat the oil in a heavy pot. Throw in the onion, carrot, and celery. Let them sweat it out until they’re soft, don’t rush this. Add the garlic, potato, and tomato paste for the last minute or so.
2. Simmer time: Add the ham hock if using one, this goes in solo as it needs much longer to cook than sausages. If using bones or ribs they can also go in now. Add seasonings to taste, it’s better to add less now, and taste and tweak as it cooks. Cover with the stock, reduce heat to a simmer, and leave it for at least an hour to an hour and a half.
3. Sausages, beans, and flavour: Next add the sausages, and both cans of beans: one drained, one with its liquid. Yes, I was skeptical too but it really works. Cover and leave to very gently simmer for at least another hour.
4. Make it creamy: After two hours or a little longer the ham on the hock should be nice and soft. Remove all the meat from the pot, take a potato masher and roughly crush some of the beans and potatoes right in the pot. Not a lot, maybe a quarter or so, as this creates that luscious thick texture so you can avoid using cornstarch to thicken later. Check the taste to see if it needs anything.
5. Add the ham back: Take all the ham meat off the hock, and either shred or cut it into nice small pieces, then add back to the soup. Place the sausages, or pork ribs if using them, into a dish to keep warm until served. If using bones they can generally be discarded, pork ribs will need to be cut into one or two-bone serves ready to eat.
6. Pasta to finish: Add the pasta directly into the pot, keeping the heat low at all times. You’ll need to stir it occasionally so the pasta doesn’t stick to the bottom. If it gets too thick, add a splash more water. If it’s too watery dissolve some cornstarch in water and add to the pot. One more final check for seasonings.
7. Let’s eat: Once the pasta is cooked (properly cooked Croatian style, not al dente), turn off the heat. Let it sit for about five minutes. Serve your nice big pot of fažol, smoked sausages and ribs with crusty bread, mustard, or horseradish. Dobar tek!

Refrigerate any leftovers, because this is one of those dishes that’s even better the next day.