Cannellini-Bean Pasta With Beurre Blanc Recipe (2024)

Don't comment till you make it! Some stock will evaporate over a 20 minute simmer. The pasta absorbs enough of the stock that what's left once the beurre blanc is added is a lovely sauce. I threw a couple Parmesan rinds into the beans and stock (also used all sorts of hard cheese nibs from the fridge - Manchego, Romano and Parmesan and it was swell)

Seems like there may be a step or two missing here. The pasta cooks in 10 minutes in the simmering liquid? The beurre blanc gets added to the bean/pasta pot? No draining?

Why all of the skepticism for a recipe that was clearly tested? Anyway, the starch in the beans will thicken the stock and the stock is simmering/evaporating which will reduce the amount of liquid. The pasta will of course absorb stock and release it’s own starch that will thicken the stock further. And the additional 10 minutes of cooking the pasta will evaporate even more liquid. Take 3 cups of water and simmer it for 30 minutes. I think you will find that a lot of the water will evaporate!!

Half the comments are: this was too vinegary. This is because this recipe doesn’t give correct instructions for Beurre Blanc. First boil the vinegar, wine and shallots until most of the liquid has evaporated and reduced to about 1-2 tbsp. Remove from heat. Slowly whisk in butter, in small chunks, to emulsify the fat and vinegar into a creamy sauce. If it gets too hot it will break, and the fat will separate from the liquid. Google Julia Child’s Beurre Blanc for detailed instructions and ratios.

The longer story about the cookbook has more detail, which supports everything ending up in one pot without draining. It says the stock is reduced then emulsified.

Recipe fails to mention the Vinegar/Wine needs to reduce to almost a syrup before adding the butter. Huge diff.

I made the recipe pretty much as written. I let the beans and stock cook at a hard simmer for 15 min, let the pasta cook for 10 min, then mixed in the beurre blanc. The beans were whole, the sauce was thick, and it was delicious. I drizzled it with olive oil before serving with crusty bread and a green salad. I know what I’m going to do with leftovers - I’m going to have it for breakfast with a sunnyside up egg on top.

This was delicious, and I'll make it again. Next time I will simmer the beans for maybe 15 minutes, as they got a bit mushy after the pasta's 10 minutes.

Beans and pasta are cooking in stock. Do not drain it.

I made it yesterday with dried beans (even cheaper!) that had been soaked overnight and pre-cooked a bit.The beans break down as they simmer, and the dry pasta absorbs some of the liquid, so you end up with a thick mixture of bean and pasta. I added a handful of chopped chard and kale to add some color and a bit of fish sauce for umami.The picture that accompanies the recipe isn't accurate - Jack Morgan's website has an accurate photo.Very tasty especially with the beurre blanc.

Would love to make this but I have a question about the beurre blanc, which I've made before the traditional way--sometimes successfully. I don't see how you get a creamy beurre blanc by combining all ingredients at the outset and letting them simmer. Ordinarily, you reduce the vinegar/wine/shallot mixture until the liquid is evaporated and the shallots soft and begin adding bits of cold butter bit by bit, making sure not to overheat the mixture. Does this really make a sauce that doesn't break?

make it as specified, the 3 cups of liquid will slowly be absorbed by the pasta over 10 minutes. do not drain.

I added some cubed pancetta to the beans and stock about five minutes after it begun to cook and loved it.Just a thought :)

Patience is a virtue, in the kitchen as in life. If your beurre blanc tasted too vinegary, you likely didn't give it enough time to reduce to a savory syrup. If your pasta was more like soup, you likely didn't give it enough time to absorb all the liquid--which will happen, if you cook it long enough. We arr always in such a hurry ... sometimes we need to let cooking remind us that care and patience are more important than speed.

I made this tonight. I followed recipe and it was absolutely amazing.

Delicious, easy, quick and all ingredients were on hand

Made many times.I added sausage and spinach.Used ditalini.

This isn’t at all a beurre blanc. Wrong ratios, wrong technique, all wrong.

I added a bit too much pasta so the exquisite flavor got a bit diluted. Even so it was, as I said, exquisite. No steps missing, and it was easy.

I'm not much of a cook. Tried this once because it looked simple. It was. Better, my wife keeps asking for this. Over 2 years I've obliged a dozen times and still counting.

I’ve made this a handful of times and it is easy and delicious. The vinegar and shallots give it some bite and class. This time I used small bow-ties which will become my usual. 3 cups of stock seems like a lot, but it isn’t. It will be absorbed. Be patient.

A staple on constant rotation in my family, easy to make, full of protein. I reduce the viengar by half, and add the butter at the last minute.

Simple and delicious!

Made this last week, and it was a huge success. But now I’d like to do a dairy-free version. Any good substitutes for butter? Does olive oil work?

I've made this many, many times. So versatile. Sometimes I add a little more liquid if I'm in the mood for soup. A little less if I want a more stew-like consistency. Great with some spinach or kale. Delicious with a hot sausage link or or a leftover chicken thigh sitting on top. This is a keeper.

Precook pasta for a bit

I really think that I made this correctly, with the additional simmering time suggested in the comments. It was vinegary, pasta water soup.

Suggestion: Click on the link above and read “ How Do You Make Canned Beans Taste Luxurious? Beurre Blanc.” It lends this elemental recipe some some worthwhile context and explains the streamlined beurre blanc prep. I finally got around to trying it last night and was amazed at how good something this modest could be. Like alchemy.

Combine wine vinegar and shallots, reduce and then add butter

This is great. There are no steps missing. Weird that people opine without making. Really top dish.