Pasta With Green Bean Ragù

Ingredients

• Salt (for pasta water and seasoning)
• Black pepper (freshly ground, to taste)
• 12 oz Green beans (trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces)
• 2 tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 Yellow onion (diced)
• 8 oz Italian sausage links (hot or sweet, casings removed)
• 1 tsp Fennel seeds (or cumin seeds)
• 0.5 tsp Crushed red pepper
• 1 Lemon (halved)
• 1 lb Short pasta (such as orecchiette, macaroni or wagon wheels)
• 3 oz Parmesan cheese (grated (about ¾ cup), plus more for serving)

Steps

1. 1

   Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil.

2. 2

   Add the green beans to the boiling water and cook, adjusting the heat as needed to maintain a simmer, as you cook the sauce. (Don’t worry about overcooking the beans; they can simmer for 10 to 30 minutes total.)

3. 3

   While the beans simmer, heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat.

4. 4

   Add the diced onion to the Dutch oven and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and translucent, about 3 minutes.

5. 5

   Add the sausage to the Dutch oven and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon and stirring occasionally, until well browned and starting to stick to the bottom of the pan, about 7 minutes.

6. 6

   Reduce the heat to low. Stir in the fennel seeds (or cumin) and red pepper and cook until fragrant, just a few seconds.

7. 7

   Add the juice of ½ lemon and ½ cup of the cooking water from the green bean pot. Raise the heat if needed to simmer, stirring constantly, until the ragù is glossy, about 5 minutes. Add more water from the pot if necessary; the ragù should be saucy like gravy. Keep warm over very low heat.

8. 8

   Add the pasta to the saucepan with the green beans and cook according to package instructions.

9. 9

   Reserve 2 cups of the cooking water, then drain the pasta and green beans.

10. 10

    Transfer the drained pasta and green beans to the Dutch oven with the ragù.

11. 11

    Add the 3 ounces of grated Parmesan and 1 cup of the reserved cooking water, stirring vigorously, until the pasta is saucy and shiny and lightly coated with sauce. If needed, stir in more water, a little at a time. Taste and add more salt, pepper, lemon juice and cheese as desired.

Notes

You can substitute broccoli rabe for the green beans for a more bitter flavor profile. If using Romano beans (large, flat Italian-style green beans), they are particularly well-suited for this long-simmering method.

Nutrition per serving

• main
• pasta
• sausage
• one-pot-style
• weeknight-dinner
• green-beans