Spaghetti with green beans

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 360 g spaghetti
• 400 g fresh runner beans (not canned)
• 1 can of tomatoes, chopped
• 1 garlic clove(s)
• 16 basil leaves
• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, cold squeezed
• Salt
• 1 peperoncini or chili pepper
• e.g. Parmesan, freshly grated

Instructions

Working time approx. 15 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 20 minutes; Total time approx. 35 minutes

Spaghetti ai fagiolini, recipe from Calabria

Trim the ends of the beans and cut into 2 cm long pieces. Add them to plenty of boiling salted water. Meanwhile, finely chop 1 garlic clove. Cut the basil into strips about 3 mm wide. Deseed and finely chop the chili pepper. Heat 4 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil in a pan and sauté the garlic and chili pepper, but do not let them brown. Add the tomatoes and basil, season with salt, and cover and simmer gently. When the beans have cooked for 10 minutes, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain the water along with the beans and mix both into the tomato sauce. Serve immediately with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. In Calabria, this dish is prepared with tonnarelli. These are square spaghetti made on a chitarra, a rectangular wooden frame covered with metal wire through which the pasta sheets are pressed.