Beans, Greens and Pasta

Pasta e fagioli is one of my favorite soups, rich with earthy beans and the fragrance of rosemary. But it’s always seemed misnamed to me. It’s a bean soup served with noodles, rather than noodles served with beans. In effect, we’ve been putting the pasta before the beans.

Pasta con fagioli, however, changes that. But more important than any arcane points of grammar, this improvisation captures the features I like best about the original and it is ready in less than half an hour.

This makes a generous and filling weekday dinner when combined with a simple green salad. Just serve seasonal fruit and a piece of cheese for dessert--at this time of year, a ripe Comice pear and a hunk of Parmigiano-Reggiano would be perfect. If it’s been a really bad day (or, for that matter, a really good one), a glass of a decent Chianti could only help.

MENU: Under 30 minutes

Green Salad

Pasta con Fagioli

Pears and Cheese

Shortcuts

Canned Beans

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SHOPPING LIST

1 (32-ounce) can kidney beans

1 head butter lettuce

1 head romaine lettuce

1/4 pound Parmigiano-Reggiano

6 Comice pears

1 pound rigatoni or other short, tube-shaped dry pasta

Few sprigs fresh rosemary

PANTRY

Garlic

Olive oil

Onion

Pepper

Dried red pepper flakes

Salt

Canned chopped tomatoes

Red wine vinegar

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COUNTDOWN

30 minutes before: Bring water to boil for pasta. Begin preparing sauce.

20 minutes before: As sauce simmers, put pasta in water to cook. Make salad dressing.

10 minutes before: Drain pasta. Toss salad.

5 minutes before: Combine pasta and sauce and serve.

After pasta: Cut pears and serve with cheese.

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SHORT CUTS

The authentic bean in pasta e fagioli is the borlotti, a creamy pale bean delicately stained with crimson. It’s beautiful, but not a bean to be found in cans in the United States (an important consideration if you’ve got less than 30 minutes to cook). Kidney beans are much more common, and their taste is similar.

Canned beans--kidney, great northern and pinto are the most common varieties--are a great time-saving ingredient and belong in every pantry. They do tend to be overly salty, though. Drain them in a colander or strainer and rinse until the water runs clear. Shake dry before incorporating in a recipe.

A Simple Salad

Making a green salad is one of the most basic of kitchen skills. In its simplest form, a salad consists only of lettuce, oil, wine vinegar, salt and pepper. Wash the lettuce well and, more important, dry it well. Dressing will not stick to wet lettuce. Using a fork, beat together 1 teaspoon vinegar to 1 tablespoon good quality oil (fresh and clean at least, richly fruity at best). Add a dash of salt and a slight grinding of black pepper. Beat again until the oil and vinegar are thoroughly mixed. Add half the dressing to the lettuce and turn the greens to coat as many leaves as possible. Slowly add as much of the remaining dressing as is needed, tossing all the while, until the leaves are gently coated. You want the leaves to just glisten; you don’t want them to become soaked.

PASTA CON FAGIOLI: Low-Fat Cooking

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup minced onion

4 cloves garlic, minced

Pinch dried red pepper flakes

1 (32-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup chopped tomatoes

1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary, plus extra for garnish

1 pound rigatoni or other short, tube-shaped dry pasta

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and dried red pepper flakes and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add 2/3 of beans, tomatoes and rosemary. Reduce heat to low and simmer 10 minutes.

Add rigatoni to well-salted boiling water and cook just until tender, 7 to 10 minutes.

Puree sauce mixture in food mill, food processor or blender and return to pan. Add remaining beans and just enough pasta water to make fairly smooth consistency (about 1 cup). Return to simmer while pasta finishes cooking.

Drain pasta. Season sauce to taste with salt and generous grinding of pepper. (Note: Since pasta water will be fairly salty, salt carefully.)

Place pasta in serving bowl and toss with sauce. Divide among 6 warmed plates and sprinkle with pinch of fresh rosemary.

6 servings. Each serving:

472 calories; 578 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 8 grams fat; 82 grams carbohydrates; 18 grams protein; 1.93 gram fiber.

Platter and plates from Bristol Kitchens, South Pasadena