During Covid-19 Michael Symon has been making daily meals in his home kitchen using pantry items—often in his slippers. His “can do” attitude is encouraging as he urges viewers to use his recipes as guides and adapt them to whatever is on hand. He even provides a substitution list.
Recently his recipe titled Pasta with Beans, Crispy Lunch Meat, Greens and Garlic caught my eye as I had leftover salami, a half can of cannelini beans, fresh tomatoes and some spinach—all in need of use. Instead of making his full recipe, I cut in in half (full recipe is included below), adapted it to what I had on hand and changed the name . . . with full credit still going to Michael!
This is a 20-MINUTE MEAL that’s PACKED WITH FLAVOR, PROTEIN and PANTRY ITEMS! It's creamy, too . . . without added cream or butter.
This recipe took me on a trip down memory lane as I remembered standing at the meat counter as the butcher sliced luncheon meats according to my mom’s specifications. Dad liked bologna but my sister and I begged for the mac & cheese and/or pickle-pimento varieties. And, then there was a memorable fried bologna sandwich that Barbara Partin and I fried up in her mom's kitchen when we were teens. We cut a large slice of her sister’s German Chocolate Cake to accompany our sandwiches and dined “al fresco” near the tent she had set up in the back yard.
Power Packed Salami Pasta 4 to 6 servings
Salt
One 1-pound box pasta (I used large elbow macaroni)
1/4 cup oil (I used olive oil)
8 ounces lunch meat, sliced thin (I used hard uncured salami)
2 cloves garlic, sliced
One 15-ounce can beans, rinsed (I used cannelini)
2 cups fresh greens (I used spinach)
About 1 ½ cups tomatoes (I used fresh tomatoes that I peeled, seeded and cut into chunks)
2 tablespoons grated hard cheese (I used Parmesan)
1 teaspoon chili flakes, optional (I used just a sprinkling)
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and salt liberally. Drop the pasta in the water and give it a stir. Cook according to the package instructions for al dente. Reserve 3/4 cup of the pasta cooking water and then drain the pasta.
- Meanwhile, heat a large sauté pan over medium heat and add the oil. Once the oil is hot, add the salami and cook until crisp.
- Add the garlic and cook, stirring, an additional minute. Add the beans, greens, and tomatoes; cook, stirring, 1 minute more.
- Add the pasta and reserved pasta water (because I added tomatoes and they expelled their juices as the mixture cooked, I did not need the extra pasta water) to the pan and simmer for several minutes as sauce thickens.
- Remove from the heat, toss in the cheese and chili flakes if using and serve.
We served our pasta with Turkish Bread..
Power Packed Salami Pasta 4 to 6 servings
Salt
One 1-pound box pasta (I used large elbow macaroni)
1/4 cup oil (I used olive oil)
8 ounces lunch meat, sliced thin (I used hard uncured salami)
2 cloves garlic, sliced
One 15-ounce can beans, rinsed (I used cannelini)
2 cups fresh greens (I used spinach)
About 1 ½ cups tomatoes (I used fresh tomatoes that I peeled, seeded and cut into chunks)
2 tablespoons grated hard cheese (I used Parmesan)
1 teaspoon chili flakes, optional (I used just a sprinkling)
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and salt liberally. Drop the pasta in the water and give it a stir. Cook according to the package instructions for al dente. Reserve 3/4 cup of the pasta cooking water and then drain the pasta.
- Meanwhile, heat a large sauté pan over medium heat and add the oil. Once the oil is hot, add the salami and cook until crisp.
- Add the garlic and cook, stirring, an additional minute. Add the beans, greens, and tomatoes; cook, stirring, 1 minute more.
- Add the pasta and reserved pasta water (because I added tomatoes and they expelled their juices as the mixture cooked, I did not need the extra pasta water) to the pan and simmer for 1 minute.
- Remove from the heat, toss in the cheese and chili flakes if using and serve.
