When we saw Melissa Clark’s recipe for Pasta with Braised White Beans on NYT Cooking we immediately knew it was a perfect match for Gustiamo ingredients. Take Bio Alberti organic cannellini, farmer Pasquale’s Piennolo tomatoes from Mt Vesuvius, and one of our favorite pasta corta: the hollow tiny shells Tofe Faella.
The Cannellini bean cooking liquid is a key ingredient to enrich the sauce with the right amount of savoriness. Piennolo tomatoes are our secret move to bring summer into the kitchen, just by opening a jar. Add them right before serving to preserve as much of their fresh minerality as possible.
In her recipe intro, Melissa advises to “use the best olive oil you can”. We wholeheartedly agree, you WILL taste it. We wanted to stay local and chose Cannellini’s compatriot, Quinta Luna extra virgin olive oil, since they’re both from Umbria.
Ingredients
SERVES: 5
TIME: 30 minutes
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 120ml /½ cup, plus more as needed
- Shallots, 2, thinly slices
- Garlic cloves, 2, peeled and left whole
- Fine sea salt, to taste
- Cannellini beans, 450g / 2 cups, soaked and cooked
- Cannellini bean cooking liquid, broth, or water, 120ml/ ½ cup
- Lemon, 1, zested and juiced
- Peperoncini Maida, to taste
- Coarse sea salt, to taste
- Tofe Faella, 1 bag (500g/ 1.1 lbs)
- Fresh parsley, a handful, chopped
- Vacche Rosse cheese, 20g / ½ cup, finely grated, plus more to serve
Preparation
- In a large pan, heat the 120ml /½ cup extra virgin olive oil over medium heat. Stir in the sliced shallots and a pinch of fine sea salt. Sauté until tender. Add the whole, peeled garlic cloves and cook until they begin to turn golden, then remove.
- Stir in the peperoncini, the lemon zest, the cooked cannellini beans, and the bean cooking liquid, broth, or water. Simmer over low heat for 10-15 minutes, using a wooden spoon to squish some of the beans against the side of the pan to thicken the sauce.
- Meanwhile, cook the Tofe in salted water, until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup of pasta water. Off the heat, combine the pasta with the cannellini bean mixture, the piennolo tomatoes, the lemon juice, the chopped parsley, and the Vacche Rosse cheese. Add pasta water and additional extra virgin olive oil as needed to emulsify the sauce.
- Serve with a sprinkle of extra cheese and place peperoncini on the table for people to add to their plates if they like more heat.
