Pasta with green beans is a typical Apulian dish that is very simple to prepare. Green beans are vegetables that can be found in the summer and can be prepared in different ways. The flavor is very delicate and it’s hard not to like it. In Apulia, we also prepare green beans in a salad with boiled potatoes, boiled eggs, and red onion, fantastic. For this type of preparation, there are variations; some prefer tomato sauce instead of cherry tomatoes, or spaghetti or bucatini instead of short pasta. There is also a baked version with bucatini, or some who dress them with cheese or hard ricotta; every family has its own recipe, but all are delicious. I prefer it with cherry tomatoes, short pasta, and no cheese… very simple. You just have to try it!

Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Cheap
Preparation time: 15 Minutes
Portions: 4
Cooking methods: Stovetop
Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients

14 oz pasta
1.1 lbs green beans
12 oz cherry tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
salt
oil
pepper

Steps

First, clean the green beans by trimming the ends and removing any strings, then put them in cold water and rinse.
In a pot, bring water to a boil, add the green beans and salt. Cook for 20 minutes from when it starts to boil.
The green beans are ready; drain them but keep the cooking water, as you’ll cook the pasta in it. Prepare the sauce, cut the cherry tomatoes in half or quarters depending on size, put oil and garlic in a pan, fry without burning the garlic.
Add the cherry tomatoes and salt, cook over moderate heat for 5 minutes then remove the garlic and add a ladleful of green bean cooking water, cover and cook for another 5 minutes.
When the sauce is ready, add the green beans.
Cook the pasta in the reserved green bean cooking water, drain it al dente, add it to the sauce, add a bit of the cooking water if needed, stir well, add pepper if desired, and serve.