Do I need a blender for this recipe?

To make the sauce really thick and creamy (without the need for cream), you need to blend some the mixture of beans, tomatoes, onions, stock. So ideally yes, a blender is needed but if you don't have one, you can still just keep it chunky but it won't have quite the same texture. I would maybe reduce the amount of stock to 2 cups to begin with and then see how you go as you don't want it too loose.

Is this recipe vegetarian?

It uses chicken stock originally but you could very easily swap this for vegetable stock and you would have a delicious vegetarian tomato and bean pasta. Just make sure you check the label on your Parmesan too.

Stanley Tucci's Pasta Fagioli

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This is Stanley Tucci's classic weeknight pasta, his take on a Pasta Fagioli and it's really delicious. It has a bit of everything in it which makes it so simple for the whole family to enjoy.

Author: margie
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Yield: Serves 4
Category: Pasta
Method: Stove Top
Cuisine: Italian
Diet: Vegetarian

Ingredients

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Extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, halved
1/2 bunch cavolo nero, stems removed and just the leaves roughly chopped
3 x 400g tins cannellini beans (720g drained weight total)
720ml (3 cups) chicken stock
480ml (2 cups) marinara sauce
450g spaghetti
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino, for serving

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Instructions

Pour a glug of the oil into a pan and sauté the onion and garlic over medium-low heat until soft, around 7 minutes. Add the beans, stock, and marinara to the pan with the onion and garlic and stir together. Cook over low heat.
At the same time, boil the cavolo nero in a small pot of salted water. When soft, strain it, add it to the bean mixture, and stir. Continue to cook on a low simmer with the lid askew for about 15 minutes.
Remove half the mixture and add half to a blender. Puree it then set aside.
In a separate pan, boil the pasta in salted water according to the directions on the package. When it’s done, strain it, reserving about a cup of the water,
Place spaghetti in a large bowl - add about 1 cup of the bean mixture to the pasta along with 1 cup of the pureed mixture. Add some of the pasta water if it needs it.
Season well. Add more bean mixture to each bowl along with a drizzle of oil. Sprinkle with pepper and Parmigiano.

Notes

We used cannellini beans here but you could also use borlotti beans, butter beans or even chickpeas.

Find it online: https://desertislanddishes.co/stanley-tucci-tomato-bean-pasta/