Pasta with Beans

This is American-Italian pasta e fagioli at its most homey: a humble pantry pasta that costs almost nothing and tastes like a Sunday at someone’s grandmother’s table. Cannellini beans and elbow macaroni in the same pot is the comfort-food endgame.

The carrot is doing more work than it gets credit for. Finely chopped and sweated with the onion and garlic, it adds a subtle sweetness that balances the acidity of canned tomatoes. Skip it and the sauce tastes one-note tangy; include it and the whole pot rounds out.

Use cannellini beans (the white kidney variety) if you can find them. They have a creamier texture than navy beans and hold their shape better than great northerns. Rinse them well before adding to the pot; canning liquid carries a chalky aftertaste that can muddy the broth.

The trick most American recipes miss is finishing the pasta with butter and Parmesan before tossing into the sauce. That brief emulsion coats every elbow with a rich, glossy slick that the beans then cling to. Combine right before serving so the pasta doesn’t soak up all the broth and turn into porridge.

Kitchen Tips

• Cook the pasta one minute shy of al dente; it will finish in the warm bean mixture.
• Save a cup of pasta cooking water in case the sauce needs loosening.
• Tear in fresh basil at the end for brightness in addition to the dried.
• A drizzle of good olive oil on each bowl right before serving is the Italian finishing move.

Variations

• Add a chopped strip of pancetta or bacon at the start for smoky depth.
• Swap cannellini for borlotti beans for a slightly nuttier version.
• Add a Parmesan rind to the simmer for restaurant-level depth.