Clay's Kitchen : Pod and Seed Recipes

Pod and Seed Recipes

© Copyright 1995-2023, Clay Irving <clay@panix.com>, Manhattan Beach, CA USA

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Millecosedde (Mixed beans with pasta)

Recipe from: Bugialli on Pasta
Servings: 12

In Calabria this would be eaten at either room temperature or prepared in advance and reheated.

This serves about 12 as a light course the way an Italian dinner would be served. The dish is then dressed with fine extra virgin olive oil, a teaspoon. per individual serving, much as Americans might put a pat of butter on their veggies. With an Italian bread and a salad it makes for a healthy lunch or light supper meal. The porcini makes the flavor very special.

½ cup lentils
½ cup cannellini beans
½ cup borlotti (cranberry beans)
½ cup fava beans
½ cup garbonzas beans
½ ounce dried porcini mushroom
1 pound savoy cabbage, cleaned and shredded
2 red onions, peeled
2 stalks celery
4 quarts cold water
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound pasta (spaghetti or linguine)

12 teaspoon olive oil

Soak the lentils, beans and chick-peas in five different bowls of cold water overnight. The next morning, soak the mushrooms in a bowl of lukewarm water for 30 minutes. Rinse the beans, remove and discard the skins from the fava beans, and put all the beans in a large stockpot.

Slice the cabbage into ½-inch strips, coarsely chop the onions and celery, and add the vegetables to the pot. Drain the mushrooms, making sure no sand is attached to the stems, and place the pot over medium heat. When water reaches a boil, simmer for 1 hour.

When all the vegetables and legumes are almost cooked, add coarse salt to taste, then add the oil (4 teaspoon) mixing very well. When the soup reaches a boil again, add the pasta broken into thirds, and cook for 9 to 12 minutes depending on the brand. As the pasta cooks, stir the mixture several times to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Taste for salt and pepper. When the pasta is cooked, even the least tender beans will be completely cooked and others will be pureed to form a quite thick minestra. Remove the pot from the heat and let mixture rest for 10 minutes before serving. Pour 1 teaspoon of olive oil over each serving.


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