Hungry in Berlin

Here’s a guest post from Ed Ward, former HIB contributor, who now resides in the lovely city of Montpellier and can eat oysters whenever he wants. Having lived in Berlin for 15 years, he’s well-familiar with the challenges of eating creatively yet cheaply in the Hauptstadt.

“Pastafazool” is some southern Italian dialect for what the rest of Italy calls “pasta e fagioli,” or pasta with beans. Depending on where you go, it’s nearer or further from the poles of sauced pasta and soup/stew with pasta. Since we Americans “oversauce” pasta (which we learned from our Italian-American neighbors), it’s up to you.

To do this as inexpensively as possible, you should start with a cup of dried white beans, water to cover, NO SALT. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover, and let it simmer very slowly for an hour or so, depending on how old the beans are, what type they are, and all that good stuff. When the beans are done, drain them. (Editor note: You can also successfully soak white beans overnight, if you’re the planning-ahead type; it speeds the cooking time.)

In a saucepan, heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Add four cloves minced garlic (or squeeze some through a garlic press), stir fry for a minute, or until the garlic odor comes out. Immediately add a can of Pizzatomaten sauce, stir, and lower heat. (Cheaper still is canned whole tomatoes, squeezing each tomato by hand). Add 1/3 can water. Throw in a bay leaf. Optionally add some chili flakes. Strew in about 1/2 teaspoon or a little more fennel seeds. Grind in some pepper and somewhat oversalt it — this will be corrected when you add the beans. Cook until some of the oil starts to separate from the sauce, then add the drained beans. (Incidentally, Bonduelle makes cheap canned white beans, and others are available at Centro Italia. If you’re using this luxury product, empty the can into a seive, and rinse the goo out under the faucet. It’s starch, and it’ll congeal your sauce). Cook until they’re warmed through, at least.

The correct pasta for this is fusilli. Voiello Fusilli Bucati (Editor note: Voiello pasta, from Campania in Italy, is most consistently found at Centro Italia, or smaller Italian boutique stores; Extra carries it sometimes) is even better. Throw some chopped parsley into the sauce, toss with the cooked pasta, along with some Parmigiano-Reggiano. A light green salad alongside, and I bet you’re still not at five bucks.

A nice variation, outside the budget considerations, is to add three of those Salumeria Toscana brand salsiccie from Centro Italia, which you’ve cut into coins and sauteed brown in a dry skillet. That’s where the fennel (which they’re not made with) will really shine here.

The shopping list:

Pasta, fusilli or your favorite shape: I saw a kilo box of Barilla pasta on sale at Plus the other day for 1.35 Euro;

White beans: A 500g organic bag of dried will set you back 2.15 Euro;

Tomato sauce: Cans of sauce to chopped tomatoes run from 99 cents to 1.25 Euro;

Garlic: A pack of three small heads usually costs around 1.50 Euro, give or take;

Fresh parsley: A bunch will probably put you back 50 cents to a Euro;

Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese: Can range from a bag (not recommended) at 99 cents or thereabouts to 2.50 Euro or so for a block; the block will last a longer time.

And random spices: bay leaves, fennel seeds, other “Italian” herbs to your taste; chili flakes; olive oil.

The cost:

1/2 kg (approx.) of pasta @ 1.35 Euro per kilo = 68 cents for two people

125 grams (about a cup) white beans @ 2.15 Euro per 500g = 54 cents for two people

one can tomato sauce @ 1.25 Euro = 1.25 Euro for two people

4 cloves garlic @ 1.50 Euro for three heads = pennies

fresh parsley @ 1 Euro per bunch = 1 Euro for two people

50 g cheese for grating @ around 2 Euro per 200 g = 50 cents for two people

Meal cost for two people (not including spices) = about 4 Euro

As Ed mentioned above, this is a seriously flexible dish that can see a dozen or so other additions — carrots, other sauteed vegetables, different shaped pasta, even meat if your budget allows. A good lazy Sunday lunch.

Do you have a Dönerspende idea? Shoot us your recipe with some estimated costs (this math stuff is killing me, I appreciate the help…) via our contact page. Good eating.

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