A hearty, no-fuss dinner that feels like home. Good quality sausage browned in the pan, tossed with creamy beans, a handful of greens, and rigatoni that catches all the flavour. It’s simple, wholesome, and full of comfort — the kind of meal you throw together on a weeknight and everyone goes back for seconds.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
- 340g Monty & Sons Rigatoni Pasta
- 3 tablespoons (or more) salt
- 3 pork sausages (pork and fennel are great)
- 1 x 425g can cannellini (white kidney) beans
- 1 bunch of Tuscan kale, rinsed
- 55g chunk of Parmesan
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 lemon
Method:
Step 1: The first thing you want to do is get your pasta water boiling. Fill a large pot (preferably around 8 litres) with approximately 6 litres water, then put it over high heat. When you see wisps of steam, add 3 tablespoons salt, stir once, and cover the pot. This will make it boil faster. Yes, it's A LOT of salt, but as the pasta cooks, it absorbs the salty water, ensuring the pasta is seasoned from the inside out. You end up dumping most of the salt anyway when you drain the water.
Step 2: While the water comes to a boil, prep your other ingredients. Remove the sausage from its casings and set aside. Dump 425g can beans into a strainer or colander and rinse well. Shake off excess water. Turn out beans onto a couple of sheets of paper towel and pat dry with a few more paper towels. Strip kale leaves off the thick woody ribs and tear into small pieces; discard ribs. Finely grate 55g Parmesan using the small holes of a box grater. Set aside about 50g cheese for garnishing.
Step 3: Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large Dutch oven or large skillet, preferably with straight sides, over medium-high. It's best to use a vessel with high sides, because you're about to do a lot of tossing and flinging when the pasta goes in, and this will minimise spillage. Add sausage and cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon and stirring occasionally, until meat is browned, crispy in places, and cooked through, 8–10 minutes. Transfer with a spider or slotted spoon to a plate. Remove pot from heat and set aside.
Step 4: Pour 340g pasta into water and stir once. You're going to cook it well shy of al dente.
Step 5: While pasta is cooking, return pot to medium-low heat and add beans and ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes. Cook, tossing occasionally and mashing some beans with spoon, until browned in spots, about 5 minutes. Transfer about half of beans to plate with sausage.
Step 6: Using a ladle or liquid measuring cup, add about 250ml cooking liquid from pasta into pot with beans (reserve remaining liquid). Increase heat to medium-high.
Step 7: Using spider or a slotted spoon, transfer pasta to pot with beans and add kale. Toss vigorously with tongs to move the pasta around to incorporate the kale as it wilts.
Step 8: Continue to cook, tossing often, until kale is wilted, pasta is al dente, and water is reduced by about half, about 4 minutes. If water is reduced before pasta is al dente, add another 60-125ml pasta cooking liquid. Reduce heat to low.
Step 9: Add another 60ml pasta cooking liquid, then gradually add cheese, tossing all the while, until cheese is emulsified into the water and forms a luxurious, glossy sauce.
Step 10: Remove pot from heat and add reserved beans and sausage, then 2 tablespoons butter, tossing, until butter is melted.
Step 11: Taste pasta and add more salt if needed. Cut 1 lemon in half and squeeze one half over pasta, then drizzle with remaining 1 tablespoon oil.
Step 12: Divide pasta among bowls and top with reserved 50g cheese.
