Today we are preparing a cannellini bean cream that is light, velvety, and flavorful.
Delicious as an appetizer or to use as a spreadable cream and warm sauce.
It’s amazing as a pasta dressing!
Preparation Time
Quick, I used pre-cooked cannellini beans in a glass jar.
Cannellini beans are legumes with a delicate flavor.
The cannellini bean cream requires no cooking; for pasta preparation, I just sautéed it in a pan.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- canned cannellini beans (for 2 people)
- leaves basil
- 100 ml tomato sauce (homemade)
- 10 ml extra virgin olive oil (raw)
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch mixed peppercorns (with grinder)
- 120 g penne rigate
- 1 pinch garlic powder
- 2 dried red chilies (whole)
- 2 stems basil
- 50 ml water
Suggested Tools
- Food processor or Mixer
Preparation
Recommended portions according to healthy eating guidelines
– fresh, soaked, or canned legumes: 150 g;
– dried legumes: 50 g.Portion sizes are always personal.
For this recipe, I used pre-cooked cannellini beans.
360 g, drained weight 250 g.Remember to rinse them well under running water: canned legumes often contain additives, salt, and sometimes sugar.
Among the types of packaging, glass jars are preferable to cans as they are less prone to spoilage.
If you change the amount of legumes, adjust the amount of tomato sauce.
Pour into the mixer:
– 250 g cannellini beans;
– basil;
– 100 ml of tomato sauce;
– 10 ml of oil;
– a pinch of salt;
– a pinch of pepper;
and blend until you get a smooth and velvety cream.Your cannellini bean cream is ready.
Enjoy your meal!
Delicious as an appetizer or to use as a spreadable cream and warm sauce.
It’s amazing as a pasta dressing!– sauce for raw vegetables for pinzimonio or appetizers;
– sauce for dressing cold pasta, rice salad, or grains;
– spreadable for crepes, flatbreads, wrap;
– spreadable for bruschetta, crostini, and canapés;
– filling for vol-au-vent or canapés.Cook the pasta, rinse it under running water and drain it.
Meanwhile, in a pan, heat a sprinkle of garlic powder, a couple of whole dried hot chilies, and some basil stems to flavor.
Sauté with 50 ml of water and turn off the heat.Remove the red chilies and basil stems from the pan.
Add the cannellini bean cream and mix.Pour the pasta into the pan with the cannellini bean cream and mix.
Drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil.Plate.
Grind some more pepper.Your pasta with cannellini bean cream is ready.
Enjoy your meal!
Storage, Tips, and Variations
Store in the fridge in an airtight container for a couple of days.
If you use it as a pasta dressing, it’s better to prepare and consume it immediately to maintain the right creaminess.
Perfect with short pasta as it holds the cream well but also very tasty with spaghetti.
Use whole wheat pasta to increase the fiber content.
For an extra touch, add a handful of chopped sun-dried tomatoes.
You can replace basil with parsley, sage, or rosemary.
You can prepare your cream using other types of beans, for example, borlotti beans.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
Tips on how to pair legumes
Recommended pairings:
– legumes + grains [example: bread, pasta, or rice], preferably choose whole grains;
– legumes + proteins.
Respect the proportions and combinations indicated in your dietary plan.
To learn more about this topic, read the article by clicking on the following link: Pairing legumes in the diet.
