This recipe originally appeared in Deb Perelman’s Smitten Kitchen blog.
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion, cut into big chunks
- 1 medium carrot, in big chunks
- 1 celery stalk, in big chunks
- 6 garlic cloves, 4 left whole, 2 finely chopped
- 1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or to taste)
- 1/2 cup olive oil, divided
- Coarse or kosh salt
- 2 to 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 15-ounce cans small white beans (such as Great Northern or Cannelini), rinsed
- 1 pound elbow macaroni
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
Directions
- Pulse onion, carrot, celery, whole garlic cloves, parsley, and red pepper flakes (to taste) in a food processor until finely chopped.
- Heat 1/4 cup oil in a large, heavy pot over medium heat and add vegetable mixture to pot. Season generously with salt. Cook, stirring from time to time, until vegetables take on a bit of color, about 10 minutes.
- Quickly rinse, but no need to fully wash, food processor as you’ll use it again shortly.
- Add 3 tablespoons of tomato paste and cook it into the vegetables for another minute. Add 1 cup water or bean cooking liquid and use it to scrape up any bits stuck to the pot. Let simmer until liquid has almost disappeared, about 5 to 8 minutes.
- Add beans and 2 more cups of water (or bean cooking liquid) to the pot and simmer until the flavors meld, about another 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook pasta until just al dente, or still a little firm inside. Reserve 1 1/2 cups cooking water from your drained pasta.
- Transfer one cup of the bean mixture to your rinsed food processor and purée it until smooth, then stir it back into the sauce to thicken it.
- Add drained pasta and 1/2 cup cooking liquid to bean sauce and cook the mixture together, adding more pasta cooking liquid as needed, until the sauce coats the pasta, about 1 to 2 more minutes.
- Heat remaining 1/4 cup olive oil in a tiny saucepan over medium-low heat with garlic and rosemary, until sizzling stops.
- Divide pasta between serving bowls and drizzle garlic-rosemary oil over each.
- Enjoy.