Pasta, Greens, and Beans

November 16, 2014

Menu

Pasta, Greens, and Beans

Vella Chardonnay

Recipe

Pasta with Beans, Chard, and Rosemary from Cook's Illustrated, November 2014

---

I had never heard of greens and beans until I saw this recipe in the November/December 2014 issue of Cook's Illustrated. I thought it would be worth trying, a hearty, one-dish meal with pasta, beans, and greens. It reminds of simple, inexpensive food like red beans and rice. And I am found of beans in various guises and so was happy to try another.

Preparing the meal was easy and took about an hour. I was able to make good use of some of the leftover Parmesan cheese from last week's Sunday dinner. The recipe called for 10 ounces of Swiss chard and I was happy to find that a bundle of Swiss chard from the supermarket weighed just 10 ounces. I did not have the optional Parmesan rind to include with the other ingredients while they simmered. The fresh rosemary came from a container plant in our yard.

We both enjoyed this meal, I don't remember ever having anything like it before. It is like a hearty winter soup or stew, but not really like either of those especially with all of the pasta. Whatever it is, it is a satisfying meal for a cool day. It has a little heat from some red pepper flakes but not too much. With the cheese, greens, beans, and pasta it presents a nice combination of flavors and textures.

As we ate it on Sunday evening, we thought that it might be better as a leftover than fresh, improving over time like a stew or soup. However, this was not the case, as the leftovers seemed to have weaker flavors than the fresh dish, and it bordered on bland.