Pasta with Borlotti Beans

Name: Pasta with Borlotti Beans
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons olive oil; 1 large onion, chopped; 2 large carrots, diced; 2 celery sticks, sliced; 75 g (3 oz) pancetta, smoked bacon or gammon, diced; 75 g (3 oz) pancetta, smoked bacon or gammon, diced; 75 g (3 oz) pancetta, smoked bacon or gammon, diced; 2 x 410 g (15 oz) cans of borlotti beans; salt and pepper; salt and pepper; 500 g (1 lb) packet of conchiglie or farfalle; 500 g (1 lb) packet of conchiglie or farfalle; chopped fresh rosemary; freshly grated Parmesan cheese, to serve (optional)

Preparation info

6-8
servings

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Paupers Cookbook

By Jocasta Innes

Published 2014

About

Canned borlotti beans, like canned chickpeas, are a useful store cupboard standby. They look attractive, with their pink marbled skins, and this is an Italian way to serve them, contrasting with plain cooked pasta. The dish is halfway between a soup and a pasta dish.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 large carrots, diced

Europe
Italy
Pasta

Method

Heat the oil in a heavy-based saucepan, add the onion, carrot and celery, stir and fry over a low heat until soft. Add the diced pancetta, gammon or bacon, and continue cooking until thoroughly amalgamated and quite dark. Stir in the borlotti beans with some of their liquid, season with salt and pepper, and leave to heat through.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in plenty of boiling water for