ORECCHIETTE WITH FRESH AND DRIED BEANS AND TOMATOES

Orecchiette With Fresh and Dried Beans and Tomatoes image

Once the beans are done, this pasta dish takes only 15 minutes. Orecchiette is a great pasta to use with beans, which lodge in the hollows of the little ears. I used lush Good Mother Stallard beans, an heirloom bean that I ordered from Rancho Gordo for this dish, but you can substitute supermarket pinto or borlottis. Cook them simply and use some of the broth for the sauce. If you have marinara sauce on hand you can use that; otherwise take advantage of the tomatoes arriving in farmers' markets and your garden, and chop up a few of them. No need to cook them if you don't want to.

Provided by Martha Rose Shulman

Categories dinner, main course

Time 2h30m

Yield Serves 4

Number Of Ingredients 9

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Ingredients

1/2 pound (about 1 1/2 cups) Good Mother Stallard Beans, pintos, or borlottis, rinsed and soaked for 4 hours or overnight in 1 quart water
1/2 large onion, or 1 small onion, cut in half or quartered
2 to 3 large garlic cloves, minced
Salt to taste
1 cup marinara sauce (using fresh or canned tomatoes), or 1 cup finely chopped fresh tomatoes
1/2 pound orecchiette
1/2 pound green beans, broken into 2- or 3-inch lengths
Slivered fresh basil leaves (about 2 tablespoons)
Freshly grated Parmesan for serving

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.

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 290, UnsaturatedFat 1 gram, Carbohydrate 58 grams, Fat 2 grams, Fiber 6 grams, Protein 11 grams, SaturatedFat 0 grams, Sodium 603 milligrams, Sugar 10 grams, TransFat 0 grams