Pasta with White Beans and Rosemary

Ingredients:

• 1 ⅓ cups (½ pound) dried cannellini or great Northern beans, or two 16-ounce cans white beans
• ½ pound Brown Rice Pasta
• 1 ½ Tablespoons sea salt
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 package of baby spinach (cleaned)
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
• ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 very large or 2 medium-size onions, sliced paper thin
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. If using dried beans, rinse and soak them overnight in 3 quarts of water. Cook for 1 ½ hours. Drain and set aside. If using canned beans, drain and rinse them. Set aside.
2. In a large pot, bring 3 quarts of water to a boil. Add pasta and sea salt. Cook over high heat until water boils and stir frequently.  At 6 minutes, add the cooked beans to the pasta pot.
3. While the pasta and beans are cooking together, warm the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add rosemary and onion and sauté until lightly browned and add spinach to cook all together for 10 minutes.  When the pasta is al dente, drain it, and rinse it in cold water (to stop the pasta from continuing to cook). Transfer to serving bowl. Add browned onions and toss well. Add warm vegetable stock until you reach a thick soup consistency.
4. Sprinkle with freshly ground pepper and add sea salt to taste. Can garnish with fresh rosemary.

From page 266 of “Healthy Life Kitchen” by Marilu Henner with Lorin Henner (ISBN # 0-06-039364-5) and adapted by Rose Payne