- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 medium onions, halved lengthwise and cut lengthwise into thin slices
- 1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
- 2 large red bell peppers, cut lengthwise into 1/8-inch-wide strips
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh jalapeno chile, including seeds, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 pound cavatappi (ridged corkscrew pasta) or rotini (corkscrew pasta)
- 1 (16 ounce) can white beans such as Great Northern or cannellini, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
- 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then saute onions, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and saute, stirring, 1 minute, then transfer onions to a bowl.
- Add remaining tablespoon oil to skillet and saute bell peppers, chile, salt, and pepper, stirring occasionally, until bell peppers are tender, about 8 minutes. Add onions and water and bring to a boil, scraping up brown bits from bottom of skillet, then remove from heat.
- While peppers are sauteing, cook pasta in a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Reserve 3/4 cup cooking water, then drain pasta well in a colander and return to pot. Add onion mixture, reserved cooking water, beans, half of cheese, and half of parsley and toss well. Serve sprinkled with remaining cheese and parsley.