Sauce of Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Cannellini Beans

Name: Sauce of Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Cannellini Beans
Yield: for 1 pound of pasta
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 2 tablespoons olive oil from sun-dried tomato container; 4 fat cloves garlic, sliced (about 1/4 cup); 1/2 teaspoon dried peperoncino (hot red pepper flakes), or more or less to taste; 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil, drained and sliced in 1/4-inch strips; Hot water from the pasta-cooking pot; 1 1/2 cups cooked cannellini beans, or 1 pound canned beans, drained and rinsed; 1/4 teaspoon salt, or more to taste; 1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley; 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano

December 14, 2011

Recipe information

Yield
for 1 pound of pasta

Ingredients

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons olive oil from sun-dried tomato container

4 fat cloves garlic, sliced (about 1/4 cup)

1/2 teaspoon dried peperoncino (hot red pepper flakes), or more or less to taste

1 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil, drained and sliced in 1/4-inch strips

Hot water from the pasta-cooking pot

1 1/2 cups cooked cannellini beans, or 1 pound canned beans, drained and rinsed

1/4 teaspoon salt, or more to taste

1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley

1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano

Preparation

Step 1
Start cooking the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water 5 minutes before you start the sauce.
Step 2
Pour 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and the tomato-packing oil, 1/4 cup total, into a big skillet, scatter the garlic slices in the oil, and set over medium-high heat. Cook for 1 minute or so, until the slices are sizzling.
Step 3
Drop the dried peperoncino in a hot spot, toast for 1/2 minute, and stir in with the garlic.
Step 4
Drop the strips of sun-dried tomato into a clear part of the skillet, stir, and spread them out. Let them sizzle and toast for a minute or so.
Step 5
Ladle 1 cup of boiling pasta water into the skillet and stir up everything well. Keep the liquid simmering actively so the tomatoes soften and release their flavor. Cook for 2 minutes or so, until the liquid has reduced by half.
Step 6
Stir in the cannellini beans, the 1/4 teaspoon salt, and about 1 1/2 more cups of pasta water. Bring the sauce rapidly to the boil, stirring, and cook at an active simmer for 4 minutes, thickening slightly. Keep hot until the pasta is ready.
Step 7
When the pasta is almost done al dente, scoop it up and into the skillet to finish cooking, adding a little more or reducing the pasta water as necessary. Add the parsley during the initial tossing; off the heat, toss in the cheese and a final tablespoon of olive oil just before serving.
Sauce of Cannellini, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, and Spinach
Step 8
Wash, dry, and stem about 4 ounces tender fresh spinach; use small whole leaves, or cut larger leaves in pieces.
Step 9
Make the sauce as detailed in the main recipe. When the cannellini beans have been simmering in the skillet for a couple minutes, drop the spinach leaves on top. Let them steam until they wilt, then stir them into the sauce, with another cup or more of pasta water. Cook at an active simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, until the spinach and the beans are cooked, and the sauce has reduced. Finish with pasta as in main recipe, but omit the parsley
Good With . . .
Step 10
A short tubular dry pasta such as ziti, rigatoni, gomiti (elbows), or radiatori

From Lidia's Family table by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich Copyright (c) 2004 by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich Published by Knopf. Lidia Bastianich hosts the hugely popular PBS show, "Lidia's Italian-American kitchen" and owns restaurants in New York City, Kansas City, and Pittsburgh. Also the author of Lidia's Italian Table and Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen, she lives in Douglaston, New York. Jay Jacob's journalism has appeared in many national magazines. From the Trade Paperback edition.

TagsSauce Italian European Sun-Dried Tomato Tomato Vegetable Cannellini Bean White Bean Bean and Legume Nut Free Vegetarian Simmer Cookbooks

Recipe information

Ingredients

Preparation

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Step 6

Step 7

Sauce of Cannellini, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, and Spinach

Step 8

Step 9

Good With . . .

Step 10

Recipe notes