The other kick I’ve been on lately, besides the sheet pan suppers, is Meatless Monday. It’s amazing how full and satisfied you can be without meat. I’m not a fan of tofu or tempeh (yet), and most cheese is so high in saturated fat that it kind of defeats the purpose, so I do a lot of combining beans with whole grains.

This recipe requires a little bit of time & forethought since the scarlet runner beans need to be soaked overnight & do take a while to cook (so don’t wait until dinnertime to read the directions below). If you don’t soak them, you can still use them – they’ll just take a lot longer to cook. Or, if you use a lot of beans, you could pre-cook a bunch of them & freeze for later use. Of course, you could skip the beans altogether, but why would you want to? They’re delicious. Ever since my friend LaVerne sent me some, I’ve been finding all kinds of recipes to sneak them into. I even planted some in my garden!

It’s definitely worth hunting for the oil-cured olives – they’re perfect in this. I found them in the bulk buckets by the grocery’s salad bar; I did see some later in the canned section with the brined olives.

If you think you don’t like kale, give it a go anyway. It adds a pretty green and takes on the flavor of the dish. The hot water bath tenderizes the kale, too.

You’ll find a printer-friendly version of the recipe at the bottom of this page.

Ingredients

½ – ⅔ cup Harissa paste

3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

⅛ tsp cayenne (skip if using hot harissa)

8 oz. whole wheat spaghettini (thin spaghetti)

¼ cup scarlet runner beans

1 bunch lacinato kale

¼ cup pitted, oil-cured olives, quartered

¼ cup toasted pine nuts

zest of 1 lemon

Instructions

The night before, put your scarlet runners in a small pot & cover with water – at least a couple inches over the beans. Scarlet runners are big beans to start with, but they more than double in size after a good soak. Just leave them on the counter, don’t cook yet. Check them in the morning to see if they need more water (they probably will.)

2.) An hour or so before you want to eat, put the bean pot on the stove & bring to a boil. Cook about 10 minutes at a boil, being careful not to let it overflow, then reduce heat to a gentle simmer.

3.) To toast the pine nuts, place in a small, dry skillet over low heat. Cook for about 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; set aside.

4.) Mix harissa, olive oil, & garlic; set aside.

5.) Trim kale, discarding the thick​​ stems and chopping the leaves into pieces about 1″-2″.

6.) When the beans are tender, remove from heat, drain, & set aside.

7.) Transfer the harissa mixture to the bean pot. Add about a half cup of the bean broth. (Save the rest, it’s great for soups & sauces.) Cook on low heat, stirring occasionally.

8.) In a large pasta pot, bring water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions. About 2 minutes before the pasta is done, toss the kale right in with it. Finish cooking, drain, and transfer to serving bowl.

9.) Stir the Harissa mixture into the pasta & kale. Sprinkle with pine nuts, olives, and lemon zest.