Bow Ties with Broccoli Raab and Beans

This is a pretty simple recipe, and it's easy to make if you have some cooked beans on hand.  It takes about twenty minutes, and you can do all the prep while your pasta cooks.  I know it doesn't look like much, but neither does the Empire State Building when you view it from Illinois. 

 

Heat up the beans with some of their cooking juice.  Meanwhile, slice some red onion as thinly as you can, and prep your broccoli raab.  Note: if you don't have broccoli raab, you can use any other leafy green vegetable.  Turnip greens might be nice.  In any case, slice your greens and heat up some olive oil in a pan.  HOT.  Get the oil hot.  Toss in your greens and wilt them, then hit 'em with the thinly sliced red onion, salt and pepper.  Next is your sauce:

Remove the beans from their cooking liquid and to the liquid add at least an equal quantity (if not more) of butter and a dash or two of smoked paprika.  (You can use chili powder or plain old paprika if that's what you've got.  It doesn't matter.)  Basically, you want to make a buttery, beany sauce for you pasta.  

Bang, you pasta is cooked.  Drain it; toss it with some olive oil; then hit it with the beans and the greens.  You might find that some Sriracha (hot sauce) or lemon juice is a nice addition; you know, just something acidic to cut through the richness of the beans and the bitterness of the greens.  Finally, if don't like pasta and beans, you can make pasta and peas, that is, if you happen to have fresh peas in the garden.

*
*
*
*
*
Bowtie Pasta With Broccoli