What is there not to like about beans? They’re cheap, they’re high in protein, carbs and fibre and they’re delicious. As a staple across many European cuisines they often get labelled as ‘peasant food’ (turns out I quite like peasant food) and this recipe is indeed one of the best. One caveat… in this case beans don’t mean Heinz…
Suggested wine pairing
Passo Verde Nero d’Avola
INGREDIENTS
150g Mixed dried beans (anything goes)
or 2 tins of pre-cooked beans
150g Macaroni pasta
100g smoked pancetta or lardons (if using)
2 large onions diced
4 cloves of garlic finely diced
2 celery sticks diced
2 carrots diced
4 bay leaves
2 sprigs of thyme
1 dried chilli
2 tins of chopped tomatoes
olive oil to hand
as much or as little Parmesan cheese as you desire
handful of chopped parsley
METHOD
1.
Soak beans overnight or for at least 8 hours then cover with water by a couple of inches and cook on a medium heat for an hour. Top up pan with water if it gets too low. If using tinned beans then gently warm in a saucepan with an extra couple of tablespoons of water then continue the instructions as per step 7.
2.
In a casserole dish add olive oil and fry off the onion, celery, garlic, dried chilli, bay leaves, thyme and pancetta (if using).
3.
Once the ingredients have started to soften and gently brown add the carrot and the chopped tomatoes and allow to simmer for 15 minutes.
4.
Once the beans have cooked drain them but make sure to reserve the beany cooking liquid.
5.
At this point you can choose to mash a couple of table spoons of the cooked beans with the cooking liquid to make a paste that will help thicken the ‘soup’. I have chosen not to as I prefer the consistency to be looser and not too saucy (see pic above).
6.
In a clean pan cook the macaroni as per the cooking instructions (usually 6 minutes).
7.
Combine the beans, macaroni and the sauce/soup and then sprinkle over a handful of chopped parsley and as much parmesan as you wish. Enjoy!