6-2-17 day 2 Penne with beans and greens

I walked into the kitchen tonight to prepare diner and was immediately reminded of a WWII song, Coming in on a wing and a prayer.  Revising a line from that song, I began singing to myself, “though there’re three burners gone, I can still carry on, cooking pasta on a wing and a prayer”. I guess you need to know the song to appreciate this so here is a link to check: http://www.historyonthenet.com/authentichistory/1939-1945/3-music/06-Services/19420200_Comin_In_On_A_Wing_And_A_Prayer-Song_Spinners.html  This is one of first songs I learned. But I digress.

Tonight’s mission was to use the greens from the porch garden that were ready to be harvested.  An easy and pleasant task using white beans, pasta, and a combination of beet greens, mustard greens, and Swiss chard.  The challenge was to accomplish this with only one burner.

INGREDIENTS:

1.Penne pasta

2. Mixed greens

3. Onion-celery-garlic

4.Beans (small white beans- but any other will do)

5. Fresh basil and parsley

6. Olive oil

7. Red pepper flakes

PROCESS:

Cook the onions and celery and red pepper flakes over medium –low heat until soft.  Add the garlic and cook for several minutes before adding the can of beans and the basil. Cook for 5-10 minutes.  At this point I replaced the skillet on the burner with a pot of salted water and blanched the greens in the boiling water for about 3 minutes. I transferred the green to the skillet with the beans, placed it back on the burner, and simmered for about 10 minutes before removing it and returning the pot of water to the burner to cook the pasta.  The pasta was then added to the beans and greens, which went back on the burner for about 2-3 more minutes of cooking.  Did you get all that?

COMMENTS:

It was worth all the effort.