This hand-me-down dinner is cheap, easy and tasty. It’s so easy, in fact, that it was made for me by someone who was trying to pass off the fact that they really couldn’t cook. Guess what, it worked!! A fail-prof dish.

Gather and prepare the ingredients:

• Cannellini beans washed and strained (I used canned, but you can soak)
• One medium sized onion, 3-4 cloves of garlic, a handful of Italian parsley – all chopped
• Parmesan cheese, grated
• Olive oil
• Crushed red pepper
• Dried, or fresh herbs (rosemary, oregano)

Start a pot of water for the farfalle and cook according to the directions for al dente pasta. Reserve 1 cup of the starchy liquid when straining. Set aside.

After you add the pasta to the boiling water twirl a couple tablespoons of olive oil, crushed red pepper and dried herbs into pan. When the oil is hot, add the onion, cook until translucent then add the garlic and stir.

When the onion and garlic are soft, add the beans and 1 cup of reserved water to the pan. Boil for a few minutes to reduce. In the meantime, grate the cheese.

After the liquid has reduced by half, quickly stir in the parsley and cheese. Return the pasta to the pot, add the bean sauce and toss well. Serve hot with fresh ground black pepper and a sprinkling of cheese on top.

Another great variation on this dish is to use escarole instead of parsley. Add it while the beans are boiling, since it needs more time to cook than the parsley. And if you have white wine in the house, it doesn’t hurt to add a dash to the boiling sauce. I didn’t have either on hand, but it was still delicious.