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Pasta and beans, the traditional recipe


Pasta and beans

Typical of the peasant tradition, pasta and beans is a tasty first course that everyone can agree on. Here is the recipe and variations.

Pasta and beans is a simple dish of typical Italian cuisine that always pleases everyone: a true comfort food to be enriched with croutons that smell of home and conviviality. The classic recipe involves the use of cannellini or borlotti beans combined with short pasta, usually ditalini , but there are many regional versions. In short, we are faced with one of those dishes that changes even if made by the neighbor!

Today we will see some variations and then we will prepare a quick pasta and beans using canned beans: in this way not only will we demonstrate that a fabulous dish can be created in just a few minutes, but we will also enhance canned borlotti beans by using them to create a recipe very delicious. Obviously, if you want, you can also use fresh or dried beans. What more can I say?

And don't miss our video recipe .

Borlotti beans
Borlotti beans

Preparation

How to prepare the pasta and beans recipe

1

Start by preparing the ingredients for the sauté: peel the onion and peel the carrot , then chop both vegetables together with the celery .

2

Take a large saucepan, place it on the heat and heat the oil . Add the garlic and vegetables for the sauté. Mix and fry for 5 minutes before adding the bay leaf and the bacon cut into strips (you can also use lard or raw ham or omit it for a vegan recipe).

3

After a few minutes, add the beans , drained of the preserving liquid and rinsed, and leave to flavor for 5 minutes . Remove the garlic and also add the tomato puree . Alternatively you can use 2-3 tablespoons of concentrate.

4

Season with salt and pepper , then leave to cook for 15-20 minutes over a low heat, adding a little water to the mixture (or if you prefer with broth , which will give even more flavour).

5

After this time, take about half of the mixture and blend it with an immersion blender. Add the blended beans to the rest and add the pasta with a ladle of hot water. Cook the ditalini by absorption (just like you would with a risotto) or by adding hot water (or broth) every time the pasta has absorbed the liquid.

6

Leave to cook for about 10-15 minutes , until the pasta is soft and the sauce creamy, finally flavored with chopped rosemary . Serve, completing the dish with a sprinkling of pepper and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil .

Variations of the dish

  • Pasta and dried beans : Start by soaking dried beans (250g) in a bowl of water overnight. The following day, drain the beans, rinse them and place them in a pan of cold water with the bay leaves. Place on the heat and cook for 80 minutes.
  • Neapolitan pasta and beans : in this Campania version of the dish , pork rind is strictly used. While cooking the beans, the rind is placed whole and left to cook for up to two hours : the taste will be sensational!
  • Pasta and beans with mussels : in this case there are two things to do: cook the fresh mussels separately to make them open and use cannellini beans , which are more suitable for this version. After that the preparation is the same . You can use the liquid from the mussels instead of the broth and add the latter at the end of the preparation, both with and without the shell !
Read also
Pasta and beans: all variations of the traditional dish

Conservation

We recommend storing the first course in the fridge for a maximum of 1-2 days , inside a special container with a lid.


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