Pasta with Mussels and Beans
Imagine you’ve taken a length of macaroni or bucatini and cut it into short, quarter-inch lengths—that’s tubetti or tubettini. Little pasta shapes like this are often cooked with beans, as in this recipe. If you can’t find tubettini, penne will do—the smallest you can find.
For more information about mussels, see here.
SERVES 6
1 cup dried white beans, soaked several hours or overnight, drained
1 carrot, coarsely chopped
1 celery stalk, coarsely chopped
4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
4 quarts (about 5 pounds) mussels
¼ cup dry white wine
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup canned whole tomatoes, preferably San Marzano
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
¾ pound (about three-quarters of a 500-gram package) tubetti, tubettini, or penne
¼ cup finely minced flat-leaf parsley
Fresh basil, if available, slivered
Combine the beans, carrot, celery, and about one-quarter of the chopped garlic in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add water to cover and bring to a boil. Simmer, covered, until the beans are tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Check from time to time and add more boiling water as needed.
While the beans are cooking, rinse the mussels under running water. Discard any with gaping shells or any that feel suspiciously heavy—they’re probably full of mud.
Set the mussels in a broad pan, add the wine, and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook, tossing frequently, until all the mussels have opened. As the mussels open, remove them from the pan and transfer to a deep plate or bowl. (Any that don’t open after 10 or 15 minutes should be discarded.) Strain the mussel liquid through several layers of cheesecloth to get rid of any grit. (All of the above may be done ahead of time.)
When you’re ready to continue, add the remaining garlic to a soup kettle or large saucepan along with the oil. Sauté very gently until the garlic is soft but not brown, then stir in the tomatoes but not their liquid, breaking them up in your hands. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until the tomatoes are very soft and starting to disintegrate into a sauce. Stir in the cooked beans, with all their liquid, and continue gently simmering.
Now prepare the pasta. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add salt and the pasta and cook following the directions here. When it is almost done, in 8 or 9 minutes, drain it and add to the beans. Stir in the strained mussel liquid. The dish should be saucy rather than soupy—if it’s too soupy, before you add the mussels, cook it down a little to thicken. Once the mussels are added, cook very gently for about 5 minutes, or until they are hot and the flavors have combined. (Do not overcook the mussels—they will toughen.) Stir in the parsley and basil (if using), salt to taste, and plenty of pepper.