Tuscan White Bean Pasta

Ingredients

8 oz. linguine or fettuccine

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp butter

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper 

1/2 tsp salt 

1/2 tsp dried basil 

2 cups Randall Great Northern Beans

4 oz. baby spinach

3 oz. shredded parmesan

Instructions

1. Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, add the pasta and cook according to the package directions. Drain the pasta in a colander.

2. While you’re waiting for the water to boil, mince the garlic. Heat the olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and sauté for about a minute, or until it has softened and become fragrant.

3. Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper and basil. Sauté the tomatoes until the skins burst and the tomatoes begin to release their juices. Make sure that the heat is low enough that the garlic does not burn before the tomatoes break down. Browned garlic is good; burned garlic is bitter.

4. Once the tomatoes start breaking down, add the spinach and stir it in until it is just wilted. 

5. Drain the jar of Randall Great Northern Beans. Add the beans to the skillet and stir until they are heated through. The tomato juices will have created a thick sauce-like mixture on the bottom of the skillet at this point. Taste the mixture and add a bit more salt if needed. It should be slightly on the salty side to properly flavor the pasta.

6. Add the cooked and drained pasta to the skillet. Toss until the pasta is coated in the sauce and everything is combined. Top with shredded parmesan cheese.

Notes

1. Time to make: 30 minutes
2. Swap canned tomatoes for fresh tomatoes or fresh kale for spinach if you’d like. Note that kale will take longer to wilt than spinach.