Pasta And Beans Recipes

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season well with salt. Add the pasta and cook for 3 minutes less than indicated in the package directions, about 7 minutes. Drain well reserving 1/2 cup pasta water.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add the oil, carrot and onion to the skillet. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring often, until fragrant and beginning to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the pepper flakes and thyme and cook another minute. Stir in the drained beans and chicken broth. Reduce the heat to medium to maintain a simmer and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Use the back of a spoon to gently mash some of the beans. Set aside.
• Add the cooked pasta to the sauce. Sprinkle the grated cheese over the pasta and toss to coat well. Stir in the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and add the 1/2 cup pasta water as needed to maintain a creamy, broth-like sauce. Sprinkle in the spinach and cook until wilted.

Steps:

• In a 3-quart saucepan, combine the oil, garlic, and hot pepper flakes over medium-low heat. As soon as the garlic begins to color, add the tomatoes and salt. With a wooden spoon, break up the larger pieces of tomato. Increase the heat slightly and sizzle for about 5 minutes. Stir in the cooked beans and enough bean water to cover. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Lower the heat and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Stir in the cooked pasta and simmer gently over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add reserved pasta water if necessary.

Steps:

• Cook pasta according to pkg instructions.
• Meanwhile, heat oil in lg skillet or Dutch oven.
• Add garlic; cook and stir 1 minute.
• Add tomatoes, beans, Italian seasoning and sugar.
• Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.
• Add spinach; cook 3 minutes.
• Put drained pasta on serving plates.
• Top with tomato mixture.
• Sprinkle with feta and olives.

Steps:

• Cook pasta as box instructs, in boiling salted water.
• While pasta is cooking, heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until hot.
• Add onion, carrot and celery and cook for 15 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally.
• Add garlic and cook one minute more.
• Add beans, tomatoes, salt, pepper, and water and heat to boiling over high heat.
• Reduce heat to low-med heat and simmer, uncovered for 20 minutes.
• Stir in drained pasta, cheese and parsley and cook until heated through.

Steps:

• Heat a deep pot over medium high heat and add oil and pancetta. Brown the pancetta bits lightly, and add herb stems, bay leaf, chopped vegetables, and garlic. Season vegetables with salt and pepper. Add beans, tomato sauce, water, and stock to pot and raise heat to high. Bring soup to a rapid boil and add pasta. Reduce heat to medium and cook soup, stirring occasionally, 6 to 8 minutes or until pasta is cooked al dente. Rosemary and thyme leaves will separate from stems as soup cooks. Remove herb stems and bay leaf from soup and place pot on table on a trivet. Let soup rest and begin to cool for a few minutes. Ladle soup into bowls and top with lots of grated cheese. Pass crusty bread for bowl mopping.

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
• Meanwhile, heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet or saucepan. Add the onion. Cook, stirring, until tender, about five minutes. Add the garlic, and stir together until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes with juice and a pinch of sugar. Raise the heat slightly, and cook, stirring, until the tomatoes are bubbling vigorously. Lower the heat to medium-low, and cook gently, stirring and mashing the tomatoes often with the back of your spoon until they have cooked down into a thick, fragrant sauce, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in the beans and the herbs, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Keep warm.
• When the pasta water comes to a boil, salt generously and add the pasta. Cook al dente, following the recommendations on the package but checking about a minute before the indicated time. When the pasta is just about done, check to see if the tomato sauce seems dry. If so, add up to 1/4 cup of the pasta water to the pan and stir. Drain the pasta, toss with the sauce and serve, passing the cheese for sprinkling.

Steps:

• Soak the cannellini beans overnight and drain.
• Pulse the bacon, garlic, and rosemary in a mini-food processor to make a fine-textured paste or pestata.
• Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat in a large soup pot. Add the pestata, and cook until bacon has rendered its fat, about 3 to 4 minutes. Meanwhile, make a second pestata (you don't have to wash the processor) by puréeing the onion and carrot. Add the second pestata to the pot, and cook, stirring occasionally, until it has dried out and starts to stick to the bottom of the pan, about 5 minutes.
• Scrape the pestata to one side of the pan to clear a "hot spot," add the tomato paste, and let cook for a few minutes, until lightly toasted. Stir the tomato paste into the pestata, and add the drained beans, the potatoes, and the bay leaves. Pour in the water. Bring the soup to a boil, cover, and let cook at a strong simmer until beans and potatoes are tender, about 1 hour and 15 minutes, uncovering to reduce liquid about halfway through the cooking time. Stir in the salt.
• With a large wooden spoon, mash the remaining potatoes against the side of the pot to thicken the soup. Return soup to a boil, add the ditalini, and cook until pasta is al dente. Season to taste.
• Serve soup with a drizzle of olive oil and some grated cheese.

Steps:

• In a medium size saucepan heat the olive oil. Saute onion until tender. Stir in tomatoes and entire can of beans. Let simmer for 10 minutes.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add penne pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
• Mix pasta with bean mixture and salt as desired.