Orecchiette With White Beans And Chard Recipes

ORECCHIETTE WITH FRESH AND DRIED BEANS AND TOMATOES

Steps:

• To cook dried beans, transfer with their soaking water to a heavy pot. Add more water as necessary to cover the beans with 1 1/2 to 2 inches of water. Over medium-high heat, bring to a gentle boil and skim away foam. Add onion and garlic, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer 30 minutes. Add salt to taste (I use at least a rounded teaspoon), cover and continue to simmer very gently for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until the beans are tender all the way through and their texture is plush and velvety. Taste the bean broth and add more salt as necessary. Remove from heat. Let beans cool in the broth if not using right away.
• Place a strainer over a bowl and drain beans. Measure out 1 cup of the broth and combine with the tomato sauce or tomatoes in a wide pan or a pasta bowl.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt generously and add orecchiette. Boil 5 minutes and add green beans. Boil another 5 minutes, until pasta is cooked al dente. Drain and toss green beans and pasta with the cooked beans and tomato sauce or tomatoes. Add half the basil and toss again.
• Serve in wide bowls, garnishing each serving with fresh basil and Parmesan.

ORECCHIETTE WITH SWISS CHARD, RED PEPPERS AND GOAT CHEESE

Steps:

• Begin heating a large pot of water while you stem and wash the chard. Fill a bowl with ice water. When the water in the pot comes to a boil, salt generously and add the chard. Blanch the chard leaves for one to two minutes until tender. Using a skimmer or a slotted spoon, transfer the chard to a bowl of ice water, then drain and squeeze out excess water. Chop medium-fine. Keep the pot of water at a simmer.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy skillet, and add the bell peppers and the red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring often, until tender, five to eight minutes. Add the garlic and salt to taste, and stir for half a minute. Then stir in the chopped chard and the marjoram. Stir together for a few seconds, then turn the heat to very low.
• Bring the water in the pasta pot back to a boil, and add the orecchiette. Cook al dente, following the timing instructions on the package. Add about 1/2 cup of the pasta water to the pan with the chard and peppers. Stir in the goat cheese. Drain the pasta, transfer to the pan and toss with the chard, pepper and goat cheese mixture. Serve hot.

SKILLET GNOCCHI WITH CHARD & WHITE BEANS

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add gnocchi and cook, stirring often, until plumped and starting to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
• Add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil and onion to the pan and cook, stirring, over medium heat, for 2 minutes. Stir in garlic and water. Cover and cook until the onion is soft, 4 to 6 minutes. Add chard (or spinach) and cook, stirring, until starting to wilt, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, beans and pepper and bring to a simmer. Stir in the gnocchi and sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan. Cover and cook until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling, about 3 minutes.

WHITE BEAN, TOMATO AND SAUSAGE ORECCHIETTE

Steps:

• Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the orecchiette according to package instructions.
• Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking it up with the back of a spoon, until it starts to brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the sausage to a bowl with a slotted spoon, leaving all the oil in the skillet.
• Add the onions to the oil and cook until they start to soften and turn translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic to the skillet and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes start to blister and split, about 4 minutes. Add salt and pepper.
• Add the beans and return the sausage to the skillet. Cook until warmed through. Add the pasta and toss until it is completely coated. Add the Parmesan in batches, stirring to incorporate and letting it melt before more is added. Stir in the basil.
• Plate the pasta and top with more Parmesan and basil. Serve immediately.

GARLICKY WHITE BEANS, SAGE AND ORECCHIETTE

Steps:

• Bring large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until it is tender.
• Cut fresh sage leaves into fine shreds; peel and mince garlic, chop parsley. Rinse and drain canned beans.
• Heat olive oil in a medium size saucepan. Add garlic and sage and cook for 10 seconds. Add wine and cook until evaporated, about a minute. Add beans, cover and simmer until heated through: 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in parsley, season to taste with salt and pepper. Keep warm, covered, off heat, until pasta is done.
• Drain pasta and return it to the pot, off heat. Stir in bean mixture, toss well and serve immediately garnished with raw peppers. Pass cheese separately.

ORECCHIETTE WITH CANNELLINI BEANS AND SPINACH

Steps:

• Cook pasta according to package directions; drain.
• Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
• Stir in onion, carrot, and garlic; saute 3 minutes.
• Stir in 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese and next 4 ingredients (everything except spinach and bread crumbs); simmer 5 minutes.
• Stir in spinach, and cook 1 minute or until spinach is wilted.
• Stir in pasta; cook until thoroughly heated.
• Sprinkle pasta with remaining 2 tablespoons cheese and breadcrumbs before serving.

ORECCHIETTE WITH BUTTER BEANS, PARSLEY, CHILLI & LEMON

Steps:

• Cook the orecchiette following pack instructions until al dente, about 10 mins. Drain, reserving the cooking water.
• Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat and fry the chillies and garlic for 2 mins until just softened. Mix in the butter beans, tomatoes, lemon zest and juice. Cook for 5 mins more, then scatter in the parsley and cook for another 2 mins. The tomatoes should have reduced slightly and the beans should be warmed through.
• Tip the orecchiette into the frying pan with the butter bean mixture. Pour in a little of the reserved pasta cooking water if you prefer a looser sauce. Spoon into bowls and sprinkle with the cheese before serving, if you like.

ORECCHIETTE WITH SAUSAGE AND GREENS

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to boil.
• Meanwhile remove sausge from it's casing. Heat a small amount of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat and cook the sausage until browned and cooked through.Transfer cooked sausauge to a large bowl.
• In the same pan add a tablespoon of olive oil and turn heat to high. Once the oil is hot, add half the greens. Let the greens sit for a minute undisturbed.
• Season with a pinch of kosher salt and crushed red pepper flakes to taste. Add half the garlic.
• Bein to toss the greens around until they start wilting. Once wilted transfer to the large bowl.
• Repeat with the remaining greens and transfer the greens to the bowl.
• Don't wash the pan yet.
• Cook the pasta in salted water. Reserve a cup of the pasta water.
• In the same saute pan add half the reserved cooking liquid and add the 1 tablespoon of butter. Let simmer until reduced slightly.
• Add the pasta to the large bowl with the sausage and greens.
• Pour the cooking liquid-butter mixture over top.
• Add the cheese and stir with a large spoon.
• Add more cooking liquid if necessary.
• Dish out the pasta topping with pepper and more parmesan cheese.

ORECCHIETTE WITH WHITE BEANS AND CHARD

Steps:

• To prepare the chard, strip the leaves off the stems. Coarsely chop the leaves and dice the stems into 1/2-inch chunks, keeping them separate.
• Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add the orecchiette and cook until just barely al dente (2 to 3 minutes less than the package instructs). Scoop out and reserve about 2 cups of the pasta water. Drain the pasta well; do not rinse.
• Return the empty pot to the burner on medium-high heat. Once the pot is dry and hot, add the pancetta with 1 tablespoon of the extra-virgin olive oil and cook, stirring frequently, until golden and most of the fat has rendered out, about 2 minutes. Add the onion and 1/2 teaspoon salt and continue to cook until the onions are softened and translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the chopped chard stems and continue to cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute longer.
• Add the beans and use a potato masher or spoon to gently mash about half of them (to break them down and thicken the sauce). Add the thyme or sage, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1 cup of the pasta water and stir to combine. Cover the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes to blend the flavors. Stir in the chard leaves, cover, and cook until the chard is tender, 2 to 3 more minutes.
• Add the drained pasta to the pot and stir to combine. Cook, stirring constantly, until the pasta is just al dente and the liquid has reduced to a creamy coating of sauce, 1 to 2 minutes longer. (Add a little more pasta water if it seems too dry.)
• Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil, the lemon juice, and 1/4 cup of the Parmigiano. Taste and add more lemon juice or salt as needed. Garnish with the remaining 1/4 cup Parmigiano.
• Just about any type of chard will do, although red chard's pigment will bleed into the dish, and it also has a tendency to become bitter. You can also use kale or spinach instead of chard; kale will take a little longer to cook, spinach a little less.