I love beans—any time, any way. And while my preference is to cook my own beans (see page 55), I’m the first to admit that sometimes a can of beans is a lifesaver. For this recipe in particular I have no problems using canned beans, and you shouldn’t either. Having a few cans in the pantry means whipping up this dish is easy—it’s one of my very favorite things to make when I want something super comforting to slurp up and stick to my belly while sitting around watching TV on a Sunday afternoon.
Recipe information
Yield
serves: 4 to 6
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Coat a large wide pot with olive oil and add the pancetta. Bring to medium heat and cook the pancetta until it starts to crisp, 4 to 5 minutes. Toss in the onion and season with salt and red pepper; cook until the onion is soft and aromatic, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 2 to 3 minutes more. Add the tomatoes and 1 cup water, season with salt, and bring to a boil (BTB); then reduce to a simmer (RTS) and cook for 15 minutes.
Step 2
Add the cannellini beans and chickpeas to the pot and cook for 20 minutes more.
Step 3
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta two-thirds of the way—it should still be fairly hard in the middle. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water. Add the pasta and the reserved cooking water to the pot with the tomatoes and beans. Continue cooking until the pasta is done, another 3 to 4 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
Step 4
Serve sprinkled with Parm and chives and drizzled with big fat finishing oil.
