Cavatappi with Sundried Tomatoes and Cannellini Beans

One of the great things about being married is that I learn something new about Joe every so often. Like when I was making this dish, and he came into the kitchen and remarked, "I LOVE sundried tomatoes!" Really? Why did I not know this? I had never seen him order anything with sundried tomatoes or particularly seek them out. There was a jar of sundried tomatoes languishing in the pantry, and I didn't know my husband loved them. So, needless to say, this dish went over well.

Sundried tomatoes + fun-shaped pasta + meaty beans = great weeknight dinner. How's that for some math? Also, this has quite a bit of oil in it, so I'm not doing the nutritional calculations. It's most likely a little on the heavy side if you're watching your caloric intake.

Cavatappi with Sundried Tomatoes and Cannellini Beans

source: Elly Says Opa

Ingredients

8 oz. whole wheat cavatappi pasta, with 1.25 cups of the pasta cooking water reserved
1 Tbsp. oil from oil-packed sundried tomatoes
1 Tbsp. olive oil
4 fat cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
heaping 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (I doubled this.)
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes, drained and sliced into strips
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup pecorino romano or parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp. fresh chopped parsley
kosher salt & freshly ground pepper
Good extra virgin olive oil for drizzling, if desired

Preparation

Cook the pasta until al dente in salted water. Set aside 1.25 cups of the cooking liquid.

Meanwhile, heat the oil from the sundried tomatoes and the olive oil together in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and fry it for about a minute before adding the red pepper flakes, and toast those for another 30 seconds or so. Spread the sundried tomatoes out in the skillet and allow them to sizzle for a minute. Add 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Keep it simmering until it reduces down by half.

Add the beans, the remaining 3/4 cup of the pasta cooking liquid and some salt to taste. Bring to a boil and then cook at an active simmer for four minutes. Stir in the pasta. Add the parsley and then, off the heat, add the romano/parmesan. Season with freshly ground black pepper and, if you want, drizzle the plated pasta with some good extra virgin olive oil.