This is one of my favorite recipes. It is vegetarian friendly, can be made with 100% vegan ingredients or easily modified for meat eaters.

This pasta dish was inspired by a meal I had at a vegetarian restaurant.

Rice Pasta with white beans

What you will need:

2-4 cups of rice pasta (2-3 cups is perfect for 2 people - main dish. Increase as needed)

1 half can of northern beans (also known as white beans — this is a matter of taste, measure by sight)

2-4 tablespoons Pesto - store bought or homemade. (I use store bought)

(optional) minced garlic, minced onion

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

To prepare: Anyone who uses rice pasta knows it does not cook the same way as white flour pasta. If you are not familiar with rice pasta give yourself a trial run before serving this to see how long you will need to boil it. Rice pasta can sometimes become mushy depending on what brands you use, and boil times vary depending on brand and shape of pasta. Don’t overboil and drain immediately.  

When pasta is almost done, sautee white beans in a skillet. They will usually be in liquid in the can. Drain beans and place a spoonful of olive oil on the skillet (before heat is turned on) and sautee beans on medium to low heat. Should only take 3-5 minutes. If beans are done much earlier than pasta just remove from heat and set aside.

Once pasta and beans are done, combine in large pasta bowl. In a small bowl (you can do this as far ahead of time as you like) combine pesto, several tablespoons of olive oil (depending on how oily the pesto is) and any minced garlic or onion you like and mix. Poor pesto/oil mixture over pasta and coat evenly. Pour on extra olive oil and/or pesto as needed. Serve immediately.

Possible add ins: You can add any vegetable or herb you like to this dish. It would go well with broccoli, escarole, spinach or fresh basil. I don’t normally top this with cheese but you could certainly sprinkle some fresh parmesan or mozzarella on top.

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