My grandmother always made her "pasta e fasule" with a mixture of pasta shapes, remnants of unfinished boxes of pasta: shells, elbows, fusilli, spaghetti broken up in small pieces, farfalle, whatever was on hand.
Cozz'e Fasule (Mixed Pasta with Cannellini Beans and Mussels)
A delicious marriage of creamy beans and mussels, this fragrant dish, adapted from a recipe in the Geometry of Pasta (Quirk Books, 2010), is made from a melange of mixed, leftover pasta, called pasta mista. This recipe first appeared in our Jan/Feb 2013 issue along with Cathy Whims article The Geometry of Pasta.
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Credit: Todd Coleman
INGREDIENTS
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste7 oz. mixed pasta pieces, such as broken linguine, fusilli, and orzo
1 (15-oz.) can cannellini beans, drained
¾ cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1½ lb. mussels, scrubbed
10 oz. cherry tomatoes, halved
20 basil leaves, torn into pieces
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add pasta, and cook until al dente, about 5 minutes. Drain, reserving 1½ cups pasta water; set aside. Add half the beans and 1 cup of reserved water to a blender, and purée; set aside.2. Heat ½ cup oil in a 12" skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic, celery, and chile flakes; cook, stirring, until soft, about 8 minutes. Raise heat to high, add remaining pasta water, mussels, and tomatoes. Cook, covered, until mussel shells open, 2 to 3 minutes. Uncover, add reserved pasta and both the puréed and whole beans; cook, stirring, until pasta is tender, about 5 minutes more. Stir in remaining oil, basil, salt, and pepper.
Ratings & Reviews (1)
Cozz'e Fasule (Mixed Pasta with Cannellini Beans and Mussels)
Reviewed by djgibboni on
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My grandmother always made her "pasta e fasule" with a mixture of pasta shapes, remnants of unfinished boxes of pasta: shells, elbows, fusilli, spaghetti broken up in small pieces, farfalle, whatever was on hand.
Rating:
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