Teresa Fiocchi has fond memories of a favorite soup her family used to eat at a local Italian café’. She set out to recreate the soup and once she’d done that, she knew it was the perfect recipe to enter into the “Our Family is SOUPer” recipe contest. She subbed out some ingredients for the Our Family products now available in SpartanNash grocery stores and after two levels of judging and a taste-test, Teresa was declared the winner. Also a winner is the Food Bank of Southcentral Michigan, which will receive Our Family products to stock their shelves. Here’s Teresa’s recipe. If you have a hankering to try it, you can find the Our Family products at your favorite SpartanNash store.
Fiocchi Family Pasta e Fagioli
Ingredients
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 C diced onion
1 C diced carrots
1 C diced celery
2 minced garlic cloves
1 T Our Family® Tomato Paste with Basil, Oregano & Garlic
1 1/2 t salt
1/2 t crushed black pepper
1 t oregano
1 t basil
1/2 t thyme
1 T vinegar
2 (14.5 oz) can Our Family® Diced Tomatoes (no salt added)
1 (15 oz) Our Family® Tomato Sauce
4 C Our Family® 100% Vegetable Juice
1 (15.5 oz) can Our Family® Light Red Kidney Beans
1 (15.5 oz) can Our Family® Great Northern Beans
1/2 lb (2C uncooked) Our Family® Macaroni Shells
Optional
Our Family® Italian Blend Cheese (Optional)
Our Family® Twisted Garlic Bread Sticks (Optional)
Directions
Brown ground beef in a large stockpot over medium heat. Drain off any fat. Add onions, carrot, celery and garlic. Sauté for 6-8 minutes.
Add Our Family® tomato paste along with salt, pepper oregano, basil and thyme. By letting tomato paste "brown" in the pan and sautéing it with the spices, you can boost the flavor of the soup. Sauté for an additional 6-8 minutes.
Deglaze the bottom of the pan with vinegar, scraping any bits from the bottom of the pan. Add Our Family® diced tomatoes, Our Family® tomato sauce and Our Family® vegetable juice. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. Drain both Our Family® light red kidney beans and Our Family® Great Northern beans and add to stockpot. Simmer for 1 hour.
While soup is simmering, bring 4 quarts of water to a rapid boil. Add 2 teaspoons of salt. Gradually add 2 cups of Our Family® macaroni shells to boiling water. Stir gently and return to a rapid boil. Cook macaroni shells uncovered for 8 minutes or until al dente. Drain well.
Add Our Family® macaroni shells to stockpot and simmer 10 minutes.