Tomatoes, Basil and Bean Pasta Salad

Due to my quick trigger finger on the bean can pull top the other day, I need to incorporate these little fiber bundles into a number of dishes this week.  Yesterday I made the White Bean Dip as a substitute for hummus and it was delish!  But there were still more beans to be used.  I decided to play a game:  I had my husband name an ingredient that he would want as part of his meal.  Then it was my challenge to come up with a dish using that ingredient, the beans, and whatever else I could find in the house or the garden.  He chose pasta.  So easy!  We had picked a bunch of grape tomatoes earlier in the day, so I went back out, grabbed some basil from the garden and started to make a pasta meal for one (I was going to dip what I could into the bean dip as my dinner).  I am going to share the recipe with you to feed four people, but the photos are only of the one-serving meal I made.  Feel free to divide or multiply depending on how many people you are serving.  And although I served it hot, I think it would be great as a cold pasta dish too.  Oh, and one more thing:  You can use gluten-free pasta if you are GF like me.  If you do, I would only serve it hot as I find the GF pastas not to fare so well after cooling.  Just my opinion.  Okay, on to the recipe…

Tomato, Basil and Bean Pasta (not such a creative name, huh?)  Serves 4

1 box fusilli – I use Barilla Plus

1/2 cup fresh basil

4 cups grape tomatoes

1 1/2 cups navy beans or small white beans

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup pasta water

salt and pepper to taste

Let’s start with a little prep work:  Slice the tomatoes in half and chiffonade the basil.  Chiffo what?  It’s a French term that means slice the herbs into long strips.  It’s easier to do than it is to pronounce.  First, wash the basil and pat dry.  Next, stack the leaves one on top of the other.  Then, roll them together from one side to the other.  Now chiffonade!  Cut the basil by slicing across the roll width-wise so they look like little circles until you separate and realize that you just made long strips of basil – tres bien!

Tomatoes sliced and basil chiffonade-ed.

Make the pasta according to the package.  While the pasta is cooking, heat a large pan with 1/2 the oil on medium heat.  Add the tomatoes and stir frequently while they soften and release their juices.  Add the rest of the oil as needed if your pan starts to dry out while cooking the tomatoes.  When juices are released, add the minced garlic to the pan and lower the heat so that it doesn’t burn.  I like to use a microplane and grate the garlic right over the pan, but if you would rather hand-mince or use a food processor, go for it.  Add the beans to warm them.

Tomatoes cooked down, garlic and beans added.

Just before the pasta is done, take 1/4 cup of the pasta water and add it to the tomato mixture.  This will help to thicken it up because of the starch in the water.  If you are sharing this sauce with someone who is gluten-free, skip this step.  When the pasta is done, drain it and add it to the pan with the tomato mixture.  Throw in the basil and stir or toss to thoroughly coat the pasta in the sauce.

Almost done!

Remove the deliciousness from the heat, put into a serving bowl, add salt and pepper to taste and serve!

Yum!!

Feel free to serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese.  If you are dairy-free, skip the cheese or add a little nutritional yeast – it has the same flavor as parmesan (it does if you don’t really remember what parmesan tasted like, so you dairy eaters don’t have to bother telling me that it doesn’t).

Tomato, Basil, and Bean Pasta

There you go! Boring name but great flavor.  I think I won this game.  If you have a better name than Tomato, Basil, and Bean Pasta, leave me a comment.  If I agree, I’ll change it and give you the credit!

xo

B