Quick Pasta And Bean Skillet Recipes

PASTA AND BEAN SKILLET

Steps:

• Heat all ingredients except cheese to boiling in 10-inch nonstick skillet; reduce heat.
• Cover and simmer about 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until macaroni is tender. Sprinkle with cheese.

ONE-POT WHITE BEAN PASTA

Steps:

• Warm the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and cook until fragrant and smells good, about 45 seconds.
• Add paprika, chili flakes, beans, black pepper, and give a good stir.
• Add hot water or low sodium vegetable broth, salt, turn to high heat and bring to the boil.
• Stir in pasta, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover with a lid and cook stirring frequently. The amount of liquid is enough to partially cover the pasta (but keep an eye on it to make sure the pasta doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot, and add a touch of water if needed).
• In the last 2 minutes of the pasta's cooking time, add fresh spinach, a handful at a time, and cherry tomatoes. Stir until the spinach is wilted, it takes a couple of minutes.
• Turn off the heat, finish the dish with freshly grated parmesan, and give a good stir until the cheese melts and the pasta looks well combined (taste and adjust the season according to your taste if needed).
• Serve immediately with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, more freshly ground black pepper and parmesan cheese if you like. Enjoy!

PASTA AND BEANS (PASTA E FAGIOLI)

Steps:

• Cold soak or quick soak the beans: Cold soak-dump beans into a 2-3 quart container; pour in enough water to cover by at least 4 inches; let soak in a cool place at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours; drain thoroughly. Quick soak-place beans in a large saucepan, covering them generously with cold water; bring to a boil; boil 1 minute before removing from heat; let stand uncovered 1 hour; then drain.
• Pour 6 quarts water into a tall, large (at least 10 quart) pot.
• Add the drained beans, potatoes, rosemary, and bay leaves.
• Bring to a rolling boil over high heat, then adjust the heat to a gentle boil; let boil while preparing the sauteed vegetables, about 25 minutes.
• Process the bacon and garlic to a paste in the food processor, stopping once or twice to scrape down the sides of the work bowl.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
• Scrape in the bacon-garlic paste and cook, stirring, until golden, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in the onion and cook, stirring, until translucent, about 4 minutes.
• Stir in the carrots and cook until the onion begins to brown, about 5 minutes.
• Add the crushed tomatoes, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Pour two ladlefuls of the bean cooking water into the skillet and bring to a boil, then pour the contents of the skillet into the soup pot.
• Season lightly with salt and pepper and bring to a slow boil.
• Cook until the beans are tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour after adding the vegetables from the skillet.
• Ladle about 1/3 of the beans along with enough cooking liquid to cover them, into a baking dish or other shallow container where they will cool quickly.
• Cool the beans until they are no longer steaming; process the beans and liquid in a food processor or blender until creamy; return the pureed beans to the pot.
• Fish out the potatoes onto a plate; mash them coarsely with a fork and return them to the pot.
• Cook 10 minutes to give the flavors a chance to blend.
• Let the soup rest off the heat, covered, 10-15 minutes.
• While the soup is resting, cook the ditalini in salted water until very al dente (cook all the pasta if serving the full recipe of soup, or a proportionate amount if you are setting some of the soup aside for later).
• Drain thoroughly and stir into the soup; let all rest 5 minutes, then serve in warm soup bowls, with a drizzle of oil and a sprinkle of Parmigiano-Reggiano.