A Family That Eats Together: Penne with Roasted Tomatoes, Garlic, and White Beans

Marin Mommies presents this week's guest recipe from Nicole Cibellis, Marin mom and author of the blog A Family that Eats Together, where she shares meal plans and recipes that will please foodies and children alike. Nicole is also the creator of the new Little Froglet line of children's activewear.

Nicole's meal plan for this week features the utlimate Napa Valley cheeseburger, chicken and two-cheese torta, the ultimate grilled teriyaki chicken, spaghetti with a raw tomato sauce, and this penne with roasted tomatoes, garlic, and white beans.

This week I have my fun and amazing 15-year-old niece in town so unfortunately I won’t be focused on creating new recipes. Too much shopping and fun things to do to get any “real” work done this week. So, to make my life easier and to cram more into my day, I have chosen a few great new recipes from some fabulous chefs and trendsetters, which I will be writing about this week.

Today’s recipe is from Ellie Krieger. My son is obsessed with rice and beans so when I stumbled upon this recipe I thought I would have a winner. We really enjoyed the rich taste of the roasted tomatoes and garlic with the cannelloni beans and pasta. It was easy too! This one might have to be a staple for a quick and easy weeknight dinner.

Servings: 4
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients

• 3 large tomatoes, cut into wedges
• 4 cloves garlic, unpeeled
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 15 ounce can cannellini beans
• 1/2 pound penne pasta
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 450ºF.
2. Slice each tomato into 8 wedges and discard the seeds. Put the tomato wedges and garlic into a 9 by 13-inch roasting pan. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and a few turns of pepper. Roast in the oven, uncovered, for 40 minutes.
3. Drain the beans into a large colander in the sink. Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. Drain the pasta into the colander containing the beans, so the hot pasta water will warm the beans. Return drained pasta and beans to the pasta pot.
4. When the tomatoes are done, pick out the garlic cloves, squeeze the garlic out of the skin into a small bowl and mash with a fork. Pour the roasted tomatoes into the pasta pot, add the garlic, the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil, the basil and additional salt and pepper, to taste. Toss to combine. Serve topped with the parmesan.