Pasta with Red Beans and Ham
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Cooking time: 30 minutes for menu Cooking schedule: see below for "menu" instructions |
Living in the country we still have delivery trucks. The bread truck comes 3 days a week (this is France!), the guys to clean the chimney or to re-cane chairs come once a year, and the ham truck comes, spring and fall. Prosciutto is well-known, but all Mediterranean countries have many varieties of local, dry-cured hams. Ours, of course, is Vendéen. It's normally sold in 1/4" thick (.6cm) slices. I love using it in spicy dishes and a small amount adds tons of flavor. Use the larger quantity of traditional pink or deli ham if you prefer. Or leave it out for a vegetarian version!
Pasta with Red Beans and Ham Time: 30 minutes
Beans are a major vegetable in both France and Spain, but are normally sold plain, rarely flavored or spiced. If I could get them I would use 'red kidney beans in chili sauce' for this. If you do, you might want to use less chili powder. Frying the chili powder releases more of the flavor.
1 cup dried pasta, penne, rigatoni
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
1 stalk celery
1/2 green pepper
1 tbs olive oil
1 can whole tomatoes (15 oz, 450 gr)
2 1/4" (.6cm) slices dry-cured ham, Prosciutto, Serrano, (4oz, 125gr total weight) or
1 thick slice deli or baked ham, (8 - 10oz, 250 - 300gr total weight)
1 can/jar red kidney beans (15 oz, 450 gr) or chili beans if you can get them
1 small can chopped green chilies
1 tbs chili powder
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 1/2 tsp dried basil
2 bay leaves, fresh or dried
few drops hot pepper sauce optional
anything else you would like to add to make it hotter - jalapeños, red pepper flakes?
Cook pasta according to package directions.
Chop onions, celery and pepper. Finely chop garlic. Heat oil in large, nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add chili powder and sauté 1 minute. Add onions, celery, pepper and garlic and sauté 7 - 8 minutes. Trim ham and cut into bite-size pieces. Add ham and sauté briefly. Drain and rinse the beans. (Do not rinse 'beans in chili sauce'.) Drain the tomatoes, reserving the juice, then roughly chop. Add beans, tomatoes, herbs and hot pepper sauce. Cover and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Add green chilies and simmer 5 minutes more. Add reserved juice if it starts to look to dry (not necessary if using chili sauce beans). Taste, adjust heat, remove bay leaves, add to pasta and toss well. Serve. Mon mari has jalapeños on the side.
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Cooking Schedule: 30 minutes |
Add beans, tomatoes, herbs, etc., cover, simmer |
Cooking for Two? Or more?
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