Rotini with White Beans and Escarole

As part of this new "get healthy" effort, we're going to try to have at least two meat-free dinners each week.  Being a hardcore "meat and potatoes" eater, this is going to be easier said than done.

Last night, we tried the first meatless recipe, something I found on the Cooking Light web site.  It's called Rotini with White Beans and Escarole, and as the name implies, it consists mostly of beans, pasta, and something green.  Our first reaction was "what the hell is escarole?"  Turns out, it's just another leafy green vegetable, kind of a cross between celery and cabbage.

The full recipe is below, or you can click on the link above to go to the Cooking Light version.  Basically, you start by boiling the pasta.  Separately, put some olive oil in a pan, use it to heat up some garlic, red pepper flakes, and the escarole.  After a few minutes, dump the pasta and a can of white beans into the pan, mix it all up, sprinkle on some Parmesan cheese, and dig in.  It smells great while cooking, and much to our surprise, tastes pretty great too.  I really liked it.

Give it a try, let me know what you thought of it!


Ingredients

• 8 ounces uncooked rotini
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced (I used minced garlic from a shaker)
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 (12-ounce) bag chopped escarole
• 3/4 cup organic vegetable broth
• 1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Preparation

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain.
2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan, and swirl to coat. Add garlic and red pepper; cook for 45 seconds or until garlic begins to brown, stirring constantly. Add escarole; cook 1 minute or until escarole begins to wilt. Add broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; cook for 5 minutes or until escarole is tender and liquid nearly evaporates. Stir in pasta, beans, and salt. Top with cheese.