My darling husband is very annoyed at me for calling his creation “Baked Bean Pasta”.
He thinks it’s misleading, but I disagree – I think it’s a dish that has to start with baked beans, because regular tinned ones wouldn’t be soft enough. Anyway, the point is, it’s a genius recipe. It doesn’t taste like baked beans and it’s a luscious and frugal alternative to a meat sauce.
Many of Pete’s creations are one-offs that disappear into the ether – this one was too good to lose, so I typed it on to my phone as we ate. Here’s the annotated version of what I wrote:
1. Fry two grated carrots and one chopped onion in oil (Pete used lard). Put a pot of salted water on to boil for the pasta.
2. Add a few slices of finely chopped pancetta (we had that in the fridge, but bacon would work as well) and fry everything well for about ten minutes. Season to taste.
3. Rinse the contents of a 420g can of baked beans well to remove all the sauce, then add it to the pan with a tin of Italian tomatoes. Add a splash of white wine and half a tin of water.
4. Cook for a further 10 – 15 minutes, mashing the beans into a paste as you go. Add a little garlic oil and chilli oil (we have these on the bench, but you could add a little garlic with the pancetta and a pinch of chilli flakes instead).
5. Just before adding the pasta to the boiling water, add green vegetables to the sauce – we used topped and tailed beans and sliced zucchinis. Add a little water to the sauce to loosen if necessary. Continue to simmer gently.
6. Once the pasta is cooked and drained, combine everything together and serve with a drizzle of garlic oil and a little grated pecorino cheese. Enjoy!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Sounds like a keeper to me! It looks delish…
Excellent! Thank you…..good creation.
Very yum recipe :)
Brilliant recipe… and idea to capture it. My culinary creations & variations are often one-off depending on ingredients to hand. Some become keepers but it takes a little work to remember & recreate.
Thank you for a quick delicious vegetarian meal (leaving out the pancetta) I’ll try it for a midweek meal.
Sounds yum – I love anything that comes together so quickly.
It does look delicious. I’ve made sauce using lentils and it’s quite luxurious so I’m guessing baked beans would be lovely too!
Sounds good, although I would’ve kept some of the baked bean sauce for the pasta, not all but just a touch. Love baked beans. Aloha! :)
Aah yes, my Pete also has once off creations using whatever he can find in the fridge and each time they are the most magnificent meals and usually incorporate pasta too. :-D
Your Pete’s bean pasta looks outstanding!
Have a wonderful Monday.
:-) Mandy xoxo
Oh I love it! What a clever man. I better go eat some dinner now!
Wow!! What an interesting recipe! I could visually taste every bite!! Well done Pete. I guess you’ve known for a long time now that he’s a keeper, Celia!
A delicious frugal supper and I’m thinking I have a can of cannellini beans I could use…yum!
I have used baked beans in recipes occasionally but I have never rinsed them before using – but I like the sound of mashed beans in the sauce
I must admit when I read the description I thought Not for me, as always I never cross a recipe of my list till I have read what is in it, what can I say after reading it, changed my mind completely. The family love beans I will try this one. Thank Pete for me :-) and you of course
It sounds yummy. I make a lasagne with baked beans and mushrooms which always goes down well. I will have to try Pete’s pasta 😃
Yum. I’m hungry now. Haha. I’ll have to try this!