This recipe is a natural continuation from my Tuscan White Beans & Kale recipe. The strong flavored leaves and creamy white beans simply is a lovely combination. And when combined with some thick whole wheat fettuccine it all goes up a notch. I use already cooked beans here making this dish super quick to throw together. You can use canned beans or beans you have cooked yourself, either works fine.
For this recipe, as is the case in the recipe for Tuscan White Beans & Kale, I recommend using the broad-leaved Tuscan or palm leaf kale (pictured) for its softer texture and slightly more mellow flavor. But you can of course use the usually more readily available curly kale as well.
If you prefer to cook your own beans instead of using commercially cooked beans, I have made a handy guide on How To Cook Dried Beans. It explains the cooking time, texture, and common usage for various types of dried beans. For this dish any type of white bean will work. I usually use cannellini, navy, or great northern beans in this dish but black beans might add an interesting twist.
And you can of course choose to use a different type of pasta. Just keep in mind that the overall texture and presentation will be slightly different.
Pasta With White Beans & Kale
Ingredients
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 6 garlic cloves thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil or 1 tablespoon dry white wine
- About 2 cups already cooked white beans That is the equivalent of 1 14 oz/400 g can
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- A pinch of dried chili flakes or more to taste
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 200 grams (7 oz.) Tuscan/palm leaf kale washed and roughly chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Fettuccine or other pasta for two
Instructions
- In a saucepan, sauté the onion and garlic in a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil (or a tablespoon of white wine if you prefer) for a minute or two.
- Add the drained and rinsed beans, the stock, the thyme, the chili and the nutritional yeast.
- Sauté for 8-10 minutes and then add the kale.
- Mix it all together and keep sautéing for another 5 minutes or until the kale has wilted a bit but still retains its deep green color.
- Cook the pasta in lightly salted water until done. Drain well and mix it with the sauce. Serve at once with extra chili flakes on the side, if you like.
