THE ITALIAN COOKING SCHOOL IN AMSTERDAM, EST. 2002

🫘 After the excesses of the festivities, I love to go back to the simple, nourishing meals that are my favourite since I was a child. Like 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘢 𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘪, pasta with beans, a beloved family meal.


In the original recipe there’s also some diced lean pancetta or pieces of raw ham. You can use them for extra taste but with enough salt you won’t need them.

The beans need to be cooked until they’re still somewhat firm. The perfect balance of softness without mushiness.

You can soak and boil them, or use pre-cooked ones.


The type of pasta used for this dish is usually a short one: tubetti, ditali, penne or similar.



This is a simplified recipe without soffritto, the finely chopped mix of carrots, onion and celery.



For tastier results, use fresh herbs instead of dry ones.


🫘𝗦𝗜𝗠𝗣𝗟𝗘 𝗣𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗔 𝗘 𝗙𝗔𝗚𝗜𝗢𝗟𝗜🫘



Serves 2



150 gr. dried brown beans (or 300 gr. cooked)

2 cloves of garlic

3-4 bay leaves

1 sprig of thyme

1 sprig of rosemary

water

sea salt

e.v. olive oil

about 150 gr. of short pasta


Soak the beans in cold water for at least 8 hours. Rinse them well and put in a pan covered with abundant water.

If you use pre-cooked beans, rinse and cover them with (hot) water.



Add the herbs and the peeled garlic cloves, then put the pan on a very low heat with the lid on.

Leave to gently boil for about 1,5 hr. Check the pan from time to time: when the beans are getting softer but are not yet fully cooked, add some salt and let them boil further.



NOTE: the cooking time for pre-cooked beans is a lot shorter: just warm them up with water, garlic and herbs until they boil, then add the pasta.


Add the pasta and leave it to cook until al dente. Add some hot water regularly to avoid drying. The result has to be a little soupy without being as liquid as a real soup.

Taste and add some extra salt if necessary.



Serve with a drizzle of good olive oil.

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