This pork and beans pasta is such a fun and delicious Italian twist on the classic combination of pork and beans. Best of all it is done in 30 minutes!
- 1 dash olive oil
- 1 pound ground sweet Italian sausage
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 6 cloves roasted garlic *see note to make this ahead easily
- 1 can white beans 15 ounces, drained and rinsed
- 1/4 cup red wine
- 2 cans diced tomatoes 28 ounces each
- 2 pinches salt
- 2 pinches crushed red pepper
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese plus additional for sprinkling on top
- 1 pound mezzi rigatoni pasta or any short, ridged pasta to really catch the sauce. Don't use spaghetti, fettuccine or linguine.
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First, get a large pot of water on to boil for the pasta. Then get out a large, deep skillet and heat the olive oil in it over medium high heat. Brown the sausage in it until cooked through completely. Remove it to a plate. Add the butter to the pan and then toss the roasted garlic with it for a minute. Pour in the beans and red wine, using the spoon to scrape up any brown bits at the bottom of the pan as the wine deglazes it. Let the beans, garlic and wine cook together for a couple of minutes before you add the sausage back in, along with the two cans of diced tomatoes and parmesan. Season it all generously with the salt and crushed red pepper and give it a good stir.
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Let the sauce simmer for 10 minutes. While it simmers, boil the pasta until tender for about 8-10 minutes. Reserve a 1/4 cup of the starchy, salty cooking water when it is almost done and pour it into the sauce. Drain the pasta and toss it into the big pan of sauce so that it absorbs some of the sauce as it bubbles together. Take it off the heat after a minute and serve immediately with extra parmesan on top! Enjoy!!
*To roast garlic, cut the top off to reveal the tops of the cloves. Drizzle the top with olive oil and a sprinkle of salt, then wrap it in foil. Roast it in a 350 oven for an hour, then refrigerate it and use it as needed! It keeps for a long time.