Editor's note: This version corrects an earlier omission of baking time and temperature.

A colleague and I recently were chatting about what we were cooking. He was planning to make pasta e fagioli, an Italian sausage and macaroni soup.

I remember the first time I saw the name of this soup written across the top of a recipe. I had no idea what it was. I had eaten it many times, but my ear had heard the name of it as pasta fazool or, as my husband calls it, busta buzzoo.

It’s really more of a stew, thick and creamy from the white beans, salty and rich with sausage and Parmesan cheese, flavored with woodsy rosemary, tangy with chunks of tomatoes, all punctuated with cute little ditalini pasta. When the thermometer dips, as it has done lately, it’s a wonderful, warming meal.

I went home that night to search for my mother’s recipe, but what I found took me by surprise. The recipe card I had pictured in my mind was right where I thought it would be, but it wasn’t a soup recipe at all.

It came back to me as I read the ingredients. This was a casserole my mom used to make, fagiole con salsicce, beans with sausage. It’s also called fagiole all’uccelletto con salsiccia, baked beans with sausage, and it has all the beautiful flavors of the soup in casserole form.

I made it as soon as I was able to assemble the ingredients and my husband couldn’t get enough of it. I had one serving for my dinner then, a day or so later, he sent me a text at work that included a photo of the empty dish.

When I made the recipe, I drained the beans before adding them, but judging from the finished texture, I think my mom used to use the liquid as well. Either that or her brand of beans had a mushier texture. Her casserole was creamier, the beans more melted than in the version I made. But mine was chunky and delicious, perfect with a hunk of bread and a pile of broccoli on the side.

One caution: Be careful with the salt. The original recipe card calls for 1 teaspoon. I used half that amount, but because I added about twice as much Parmesan as was listed, I wished I hadn’t added any salt at all. I suggest not adding any until the very end, when you can get a taste of sausage and beans and decided whether you need more salt before baking.

Enjoy!

Jill Blanchette is the multiplatform production manager at The Day. Share comments and recipes with her at j.blanchette@theday.com.

Fagiole con Salsicce

2 tablespoons olive oil1 pound bulk sweet Italian sausage, or links with the casings removed1 cup chopped onion1 clove garlic, finely chopped1 can tomatoes (a 28-ounce can of whole tomatoes that you crush as you add them or the same size can of fire-roasted, diced tomatoes, both with their liquid)½ teaspoon dried sage2 15-ounce cans cannellini beans (with the liquid for a creamier casserole, without for a drier one)2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (or more)Salt and pepper to tastePreheat oven to 350 degrees.In a large skillet, heat oil; add the sausage, breaking it up and browning on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.Pour off most of the fat then add onion and garlic to the pan; sauté until tender, about 5 minutes.Add the tomatoes and liquid, and the sage. Simmer uncovered, stirring frequently, until the sauce has thickened, about 10 minutes.Remove from heat. Stir in cannellini beans and sausage. Taste the mixture at this point and add salt and pepper, taking into account all the salt in the Parmesan cheese you are about to add.Pour the mixture into a 2-quart casserole dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.