Rustic Sicilian Bean & Ham Pasta – Real Italian Comfort Food

ham

🥗Healthier: turkey ham

💰Cheaper: smoked turkey

Turkey ham reduces calories and fat while maintaining flavor.

parmesan cheese

🥗Healthier: nutritional yeast

💰Cheaper: grated pecorino

Nutritional yeast is dairy-free and adds umami flavor.

Soak Botti beans for 36 hours and rinse three times in fresh water.

Boil the gam water in a pot.

Add bay leaf and soaked beans to the boiling water.

Turn down the heat to medium-low and cover, cooking for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Prepare the soffritto by chopping onion, carrot, garlic, and celery.

Add olive oil to a pan and sauté the soffritto on high heat for 4-5 minutes.

Chop leftover gam into small cubes and add to the pan with the soffritto.

Drain the beans, reserving the liquid, and mix them with the soffritto and gam.

Add a couple of ladles of the reserved bean liquid to the mixture.

Add chopped tomatoes and cook for 3-4 minutes until amalgamated.

Use a hand blender to blend a portion of the beans into a cream.

Add pasta to the mixture and wait for the liquid to absorb before adding more stock.

Keep stock boiling gently in the background while adding it to the pasta progressively.

Taste the pasta to check for doneness before adding cream.

Add cream and chopped rosemary to the pasta, mixing well.

Cover and let it sit for 2-3 minutes to infuse the rosemary flavor.

Serve the pasta, drizzling with olive oil and sprinkling with reserved rosemary and chili flakes.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level:

Dietary

Allergens