Dinner on Deadline: A deep-flavored, quick-cooking sauce
Just about any vegetable can be turned into a pasta sauce, and though we don't typically think of combining beans and pasta (except in that great Italian soup pasta e fagioli), this pairing can work particularly well. Once you cook the beans (or thaw them from frozen - or, OK, drain them from a can), you puree half with a little olive oil and leave the rest whole. Combined with garlic-infused oil and rosemary, they turn into a deep-flavored, quick-cooking sauce. Serve with a crisp salad.
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Just about any vegetable can be turned into a pasta sauce, and though we don't typically think of combining beans and pasta (except in that great Italian soup pasta e fagioli), this pairing can work particularly well. Once you cook the beans (or thaw them from frozen - or, OK, drain them from a can), you puree half with a little olive oil and leave the rest whole. Combined with garlic-infused oil and rosemary, they turn into a deep-flavored, quick-cooking sauce. Serve with a crisp salad.
Rigatoni With Garbanzo Bean Sauce
4 servings
11/2 cups (9 ounces) cooked or canned no-salt-added garbanzo beans (chick peas), drained
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, lightly smashed
1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped fine, plus more for garnish
Salt, freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces dried rigatoni
Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, for serving
1. Combine half the garbanzo beans and 1 tablespoon of oil in a food processor or blender; process to an emulsified puree.
2. Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for a few minutes, until lightly browned, then discard the garlic.
3. Add the pureed garbanzo beans and whole garbanzo beans to the saucepan, sprinkle with the rosemary and season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the flavors meld, about 5 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the rigatoni and cook to package directions for al dente. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking water.
5. Transfer the rigatoni to a warm serving dish. Loosen the garbanzo bean sauce with the reserved pasta cooking water, if necessary, and pour over the pasta. Toss to incorporate.
6. Garnish with rosemary and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Serve.
- Adapted from The Silver Spoon: Quick and Easy Italian Recipes (Phaidon, 2015).
Per serving: 430 calories, 12 g protein, 59 g carbohydrates, 16 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 910 mg sodium, 6 g dietary fiber, 2 g sugar.