Sun-dried Tomato and Cannellini Bean Pasta
This is one of those pastas we keep coming back to, honestly. The combination of sun-dried tomatoes and roasted cherry tomatoes gives you this deep, jammy, intensely savoury sauce that feels like it took way longer than it did. Cannellini beans bulk it out beautifully and add this creamy, almost buttery texture that makes every forkful feel properly satisfying. The caramelised red onions are the secret weapon here, sweet and soft and absolutely loaded with flavour. Make this tonight and you will not be disappointed.
Before You Start
- Preheat oven to 200°C
- Roasting tray
- Food processor
- Large pan
Ingredients
- 150g cherry tomatoes - ideally on the vine
- olive oil for roasting
- Salt & pepper
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2 tsp sugar
- pinch of salt
- 2 red onions
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 x 400g tins of cannellini beans
- Roasted tomatoes and garlic - per recipe
- caramelised onions - per recipe
- 1 tbsp lemon juice - from half a lemon
- 1 tbsp chilli flakes
- ½ tbsp salt
- ½ tsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp oregano
- 1 tsp pepper
- water (to loosen)
- 8 sun-dried tomatoes
- 300g spaghetti
- 2 tbsp sun-dried tomato oil - from the jar
- Handful of cherry tomatoes
- balsamic glaze
- Handful of rocket
Method
Roast the garlic and tomatoes
- Lightly bash the unpeeled garlic cloves with the side of your knife
- Add to a roasting tray with the cherry tomatoes
- Drizzle over some olive oil and salt and pepper, and toss to coat
- Roast for 15 minutes, until the garlic has softened and the tomatoes have collapsed and are charring in places
Caramelise the onions
- Peel and finely dice the red onions
- Warm the olive oil in a frying pan
- Fry over a medium heat with a pinch of salt until soft (around 5 minutes)
- Sprinkle over the sugar and stir to coat
- Continue frying until caramelised and sticky, around 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to stop it burning
- Set aside to cool to room temperature
Make the tomato bean sauce
- Drain and rinse the cannellini beans
- Juice the lemon
- Pop the roasted garlic cloves out of their skins and the cherry tomatoes off their vines
- Add these and the remaining sauce ingredients in a food processor and whizz them up into a sauce, adding as much water as needed to get to a smooth pourable consistency
- Adjust seasoning to taste
Meanwhile, cook the pasta
- Cook the pasta according to package instructions
- Drain once cooked and toss in a drizzle of olive oil to stop the pasta sticking, and reserve some of the pasta cooking water
Assemble the pasta
- Pour the sun-dried tomato oil into a large pan and warm it up
- Pour the sauce into the pan and stir until it bubbles
- Loosen up the sauce with as much reserved pasta water as necessary to get a coating consistency
- Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and stir through to coat
- Plate up and serve immediately with a handful of cherry tomatoes, rocket and a drizzle of balsamic glaze
Tips & Variations
- Don't rush the onions: We know it's tempting to crank the heat, but low and slow is the move here. Give them at least 15 to 20 minutes and you'll be rewarded with that gorgeous, jammy sweetness that makes this sauce sing.
- Make it saucier: If you like a looser sauce, stir in a splash of pasta cooking water at the end. It helps everything come together and gives it that silky restaurant-style finish. We always save a mugful just in case.
- Swap the beans: Cannellini are our go-to but butter beans work brilliantly here too. Ian's made it with chickpeas before and honestly that's a great shout as well, slightly firmer but still delicious.
Why This Works
The trick here is using two kinds of tomato. The sun-dried ones bring that concentrated, punchy depth and the roasted cherry tomatoes bring brightness and a little char that lifts the whole thing. Letting the onions properly caramelise is worth every minute too, don't rush that step. It's the difference between a good pasta and a genuinely great one.