Corrallini Pasta with French Beans and Cherry Tomatoes

This is such a light pasta, perfect for warm early spring or summer days. Bring home fresh vegetables from the garden or farmer’s market and come hone to enjoy cooking a quick and easy meal. If you can’t find corrallini pasta, which is a tiny, bite-size pasta, you can use ditalini or any small noodle instead.

Ingredients

1 lb. French beans, freshly picked (not frozen)

½ tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 lb. pasta, uncooked

1 yellow onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, finely minced

1 lb. cherry tomatoes

salt, to taste

pepper, to taste

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

¼ cup freshly chopped parsley or 2 Tb. dried

Directions 

1. In a covered semi-deep pan, fill with water and bring to a boil. Add the French beans and cook for 5-7 minutes. If you would like them to be very soft, continue to cook for another 10 minutes, but they will lose their bright green color. When finished, strain through a colander.
2. Meanwhile, bring the pasta water to a boil over medium-high heat in a covered pan. Add the past and cook according to the package instructions. When it is fully cooked, strain through a colander with small holes or a large sieve (these pasta noodles are tiny and may fall through a large colander).
3. To a large sauté pan over medium heat, add the butter. Once it froths, add the olive oil until both are warmed.
4. To the sauté pan, add the onion until lightly browned. Add the green beans and brown them on all sides. Next, add the garlic, cherry tomatoes, salt and pepper. Continue to sauté all the vegetables until the tomatoes have broken their skin.
5. Add the corralini pasta to the large pan with vegetables and combine very well. Remove from heat. Top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese, fresh parsley, and a drizzle of olive oil before serving.

 This recipe makes a very large dish, which is perfect for a family dinner, especially since you can all enjoy it from the same large plate, like I’ve served in the photo here.