This recipe serves 2. It’s very easy to make, but very tasty. I find that canned cannellini beans work as well as dried beans, but I’ve asterisked the instructions for dried beans; a lot of effort for little return. This dish can be served as a meal in itself or as a soup.
INGREDIENTS
- 200 g canned*, drained and rinsed cannellini beans; reserve the liquid
- 80 ml extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 whole garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 celery stalk, chopped
- a few pieces of prosciutto rind
- 2 Italian tomatoes (or 1 large field tomato), chopped
- salt and pepper
- 50 g dried tubetti pasta
- 45 g grated Parmesan
- 1 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley
* Or 50 g dried cannellini beans. Soak beans for 6 hours in a saucepan of water. Drain and replace the water, bring the beans to a boil and simmer until they are soft (about 45 minutes). Drain the beans reserving the cooking water**
INSTRUCTIONS
- Heat half the oil in a large saucepan and sauté the garlic cloves, celery and prosciutto rind for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, beans and 250 ml of the bean liquid** topped up with water. Bring to boil, then remove from the heat and pick out the garlic cloves and prosciutto rind. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Cook the tubetti in salted boiling water until al dente. Drain and add to the bean mixture.
- Return bean and pasta mixture to a simmer, add the remaining oil and cook for another 5 minutes. To make it more soup-like add some of the pasta water.
- Serve sprinkled with Parmesan and parsley and drizzled with more oil
Pasta and Beans
Pasta and Beans
Bryan