St John Bosco’s Pasta e Fagioli

by Grazia Barletta · Published June 17, 2024 · Updated June 16, 2024

To mark Youth Day, it is good to call to mind St John Bosco, the champion of youth and founder of the Salesian Order

Born as Giovanni Melchiorre Bosco in Becchi, northwestern Italy, on August 16, 1815, he grew up just after the Napoleonic Wars and a drought which had ravaged his home region. At the age of two, John lost his father, leaving him and his two older brothers to be raised by their very poor but saintly mother, Margherita.

As a boy, John was enthralled by the magic tricks and acrobatics of the travelling circus. He realised that by learning their tricks, he could use them to attract others and hold their attention. One Sunday evening, John staged a show for the kids in his neighbourhood. At the end of the show, he recited a homily he’d heard earlier in the day. He ended by inviting his neighbours to pray with him. His shows were repeated and John discerned the call to become a priest.

At 12 he left home and worked in a vineyard for some years before he met Fr Joseph Cafasso (now a canonised saint) who helped John enter the seminary in 1835. He was ordained a priest in 1841.

His first assignment was to the city of Turin, in whose slums John, now known as Don Bosco, went to work with the children of the poor. He used his talents as a performer, doing tricks to capture attention, and then shared with the children his message for the day. When he was not preaching, Don Bosco worked tirelessly seeking employment for boys who needed it and searching for lodgings for others. His mother helped him, and by the 1860s, they were responsible for lodging 800 boys.

In 1859, Don Bosco established the Society of St Francis de Sales, commonly known as the Salesians, to help boys with their faith formation and vocational training. The Salesians came to Cape Town in 1910 and are now well-established across Southern Africa.

Don Bosco died on January 31, 1888, and was canonised at Easter 1934. St John Bosco is the patron saint of apprentices, schoolchildren, juvenile delinquents, editors, and magicians. His feast day is on January 31.

To celebrate St John Bosco and Youth Day, the humble Italian staple dish of Pasta e Fagioli is perfect. It’s also a dish of a thousand variations. Some cooks make the dish very thick, others use so much tomato it could be a soup. Sometimes you’ll see different types of beans being used.

Preparation: 55 min, Servings: 2 (measures can be doubled)

Ingredients

250ml cold water • 10ml olive oil • 1 crushed clove of garlic • ½ tin cannellini beans • 1 cup of pasta (any shape, for example lumache or fusilli) • 4 fresh basil leaves • salt and pepper

For basic tomato sauce:

1 tin chopped tomatoes • 5ml salt • 3ml black pepper • 15ml olive oil • 3 fresh basil leaves

Preparation:

Add all the ingredients for the basic tomato sauce in a saucepan and bring to a boil, then simmer till the sauce is thick.
Measure out 125ml of the tomato sauce. (Freeze leftover sauce and use it as needed for pasta toppings or even on pizza bases.)
Add the water, olive oil, crushed garlic and tomato sauce to a pot, and bring to a boil.
Add the pasta and stir, then leave to cook for 5 minutes.
Add the beans, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook till the pasta is al dente.
Enjoy with a prayer to St John Bosco!

Grazia Barletta is an author, book designer, and food photographer & stylist. She can be contacted at
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