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Pasta Fazool

2 (28ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, sliced
1 head of escarole or spinach, washed and roughly chopped, or an 8ounce bag of of baby spinach (optional)
salt and pepper
1 3/4 cups homemade cooked beans with their cooking liquid, or 1 15ounce can of beans, undrained
1 teaspoon dried oregano
12 ounces dried soup pasta, like orecchiette or medium shells
1 1/2 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves, roughly torn
freshly grated Parmesan cheese for serving
olive oil for serving

Bring a large pot of water to boil for the pasta.

Meanwhile, pour the canned tomatoes and their juices into a large bowl. Crush the tomatoes with your hand, being careful every time you burst a whole tomato as the juice really wants to squirt all across your kitchen and your shirt. Remove any especially hard stem chunks or bits of skin and discard. Your tomatoes should end up with a coarse, chunky consistency.

In a dutch oven or soup pot, heat the oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add the garlic and saute until it is just starting to brown around the edges, 1 to 2 minutes. Increase the heat to mediumhigh . If using greens, add them now (or skip straight to adding the beans), season lightly with salt and pepper and cook until it is fully wilted. Add the beans, oregano, salt and pepper and let them simmer, stirring frequently, until the liquid has thickened nicely and reduced by about half.

Add the crushed tomatoes, scraping out as much of the juices from the sides of the bowl as you can. Stir the tomatoes and then season them with more salt and pepper. Continue cooking over mediumhigh heat until everything is simmering, then cover and reduce the heat to a gentle simmer while you cook the pasta.

By now, the water should be boiling. Season it with salt until it taste like a nicely flavored broth and then add the pasta until just albert dente.

If serving all the fazool at one: drain the pasta and then add it to the pot with the tomatoes and beans. Toss in half of the fresh basil and stir, allowing everything to simmer together briefly and combine. Taste for seasoning and adjust as desired. Ladle into three soup bowls and top with Parmesan cheese, olive oil and fresh basil. Eat immediately, with a soup spoon.

If only eating some of the fazool: Use just the amount of pasta and fazool you are going to eat in one sitting, and follow the steps above. Save the rest for later, keeping the pasta and broth separate.