Ciao Bellos & Bellas!
I’m hoping everyone is well and has been enjoying the sun and warmth that has finally arrived. My way of coping with the cold & snow of the last few months was with good food. This recipe is perfect for one or to share while binge watching Netflix.
I was flattered when I received an invitation to shoot a recipe video with published Cook Book Author, Food Blogger, and PR/Social Media instructor Rebecca Coleman. Her scrumptious blog Cooking by Laptop and her cookbook Aquafabulous!: 100+ Egg-Free Vegan Recipes Using Aquafaba, focus on vegetarian/vegan cooking. She has been a great friend & helped me with my own social media.
The other shout-out goes to photographer & videographer J. Dyson on the amazing work he put into this project. The video below and the beautiful photo at the top of the post were done by him.
Both the video and written recipe are below.
FYI, I have altered my Roman Sauces Classes in May and it has become a Demo & Dinner. I will demonstrate an appetizer, both Carbonarra & Cacio e Pepe pastas, plus a dessert. I’ll be feeding you small plates in the kitchen as we go along. The cost is 70. Most of my remaining public classes are sold-out & my private in home classes are booking into May. Book a spot or miss out.
Why this recipe?
For those of you who follow me on Instagram you know I do a lot of veggie & bean recipes. They are easy, fast and healthy. Rebecca asked for a vegetarian recipe and I grew up on these kinds of dishes. Below I present one of my favorites, Rapini & Borlotti Bean Pasta. Food Nerd Tip – Borlotti Beans are also known as Cranberry, or Romano Beans.
Try it, share it, sign-up for my monthly recipe but most importantly always remember to #EatwiththoseyouLove TM
Peter Ciuffa aka Pasta Boy Peter
Rapini & Borlotti Bean Pasta Recipe
As with any recipe always use safe cooking procedures, & food safe practices. Health Canada is a great site for all food safe guidelines. https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/topics/food-safety.html
The recipe I did in the video is for 2 hungry people. This one is for 4.
A head of Broccoli, Rapini, Brocolinni, Romanesco or even Cauliflower. Trim and wash your Rapini. Don’t throw out the stems of Broccoli or Cauliflower either. Trim the stems into sticks after peeling the outside.
250 grams of dry beans that have been soaked and then boiled to tender. Try not to overcook them. Follow the instructions on the package for cooking. One note is that do not add salt to your boiling water until 5 minutes before your beans are finished cooking. They will remain hard if you do. (You can substitute Cannellini Beans)
OR
1 398 ml/14 fl oz. Cans of Beans. Make sure the beans are only packed in Salt water and maybe Citric Acid at most. Drain and rinse them.
Bronze Extruded Pasta
3 to 4 cloves of sliced garlic
6 to 7 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt
Black pepper
Chilli Flakes
A lemon for zesting and juice
Pecorino or Parmesan Cheese
Method:
Start with 4 litres of water boiling in a large pot for the pasta.
Salt the water until it tastes like the Mediterranean Sea.
Cook your Greens until the stems are soft. Pull the greens out and place them in cold water, but leave your water boiling.
Sauce
Add olive oil to a deep sauté pan and set to a medium heat.
Then add the garlic to the frying pan and sauté until the garlic begins to go golden brown 2-5 minutes. Add a small dash of salt, a pinch of pepper and chili flakes to taste.
Now add your pasta to the boiling water.
Add your beans to the pan. Once they start to release their starch and become creamy, plus the oil starts to crackle slightly, add your greens to the pan. Toss to coat them in the oil, turn your heat to medium if you’ve turned it down, and cook them down until the greens start to just come apart and everything has combined becoming slightly creamy. Watch the video to see what I mean.
When your pasta has just reached al dente pull it out saving some pasta water. Toss the pasta into the pan. Al dente means it has a bit of tooth or chew to it. It should still be cooked.
Toss a quarter of a ladle of your pasta water into the beans & greens sauce. Toss all of it together until the pasta is coated and the water has combined with the sauce. Make sure it is creamy and evenly coats all the pasta.
Hit the dish with a squeeze of lemon juice if you wish and stir it in.
Plate your pasta and finish it with a dash of finishing oil, lemon zest, salt and cheese to taste. Now eat and contact me with any questions.
Please do share, comment, like, sign-up for my monthly recipe & most importantly always #EatwiththoseyouLove TM
Pasta Boy Peter
By Peter Ciuffa
Copyright Peter Ciuffa of Pasta Boy Peter Inc.