| This is a three-course autumnal, vegetarian meal that I made last night. The bean soup combined with the pasta provides a complete protein. The total cooking time is 25 minutes (including most of the cleanup).
Farfalle Pasta (Large butterflies) With Roasted Red Bell Pepper Sauce
The sauce for this pasta dish is an astonishing colour. Mince a large shallot and several cloves of garlic and sauté them lightly in a little butter. Put this cooked mixture in a blender jug along with bottled roasted red bell peppers (rinse them to remove soaking liquid and any seeds first). Blend the mixture, adding olive oil and a little water, until smooth.
Dice a fresh red pepper and sauté the pieces in olive oil briefly. Reduce the heat and then pour the blended red peppers over the fresh peppers to finish cooking them. Add a generous amount of dried basil, oregano, and parsley. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Mix the cooked pasta with the sauce and garnish with a dusting of fresh cracked pepper.
Blended (And Whole) Bean Soup
Make a mirepoix (diced carrots, onion, and celery sautéed lightly in a mixture of olive oil and butter) in a soup pot and then cover this with water or vegetable stock and allow it to simmer until softened.
Rinse tinned white kidney beans and puree with water or stock until smooth. Press through a mesh colander into the soup. Rinse tinned Romano beans and more white kidney beans and add these whole to the soup. Add as much water and/or beans as you wish to create a desired consistency. But use enough blended white kidney beans to give the soup body and a somewhat creamy texture.
Season the soup with generous quantities of dried oregano, basil and fresh cracked black pepper and a small amount of dried onion and garlic powder. Salt to taste. The addition of a little buttermilk, or Parmesan cheese will enhance the flavour of the beans.
Roma Tomato Salad
Slice small plum tomatoes in half; place them in a bowl and season with salt, dried basil, black pepper, white balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. Toss and serve.
Note: I find that the easiest way to clean a blender is to fill it with water, add a couple of drops of dishwashing liquid, make blended dishwater, and then rinse the jug well. | 
