Some evenings, dinner needs to come together from what’s already in the pantry, without a sink full of dishes afterward. This tomato and white bean skillet is just that: warm, savory, and ready for bread to swipe through the sauce.
Gather the pantry ingredients
For three or four servings, you’ll need one tablespoon olive oil, one small yellow onion, three garlic cloves, one pint cherry tomatoes, and one 15-ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed. Set out half a cup of vegetable broth, half a teaspoon smoked paprika, a handful of baby spinach, and half a lemon, too. Salt and black pepper bring everything into focus.
Let the tomatoes soften
Warm the olive oil in a deep skillet over medium heat, then cook the diced onion with a pinch of salt until soft, about five minutes. Stir in the minced garlic and smoked paprika for 30 seconds, then add the cherry tomatoes. Cook, stirring now and then, until several tomatoes burst and leave their juices in the pan.
Finish with beans and lemon
Pour in the broth and add the beans, then simmer for five to seven minutes so the sauce thickens slightly and the beans warm through. Fold in the spinach until just wilted, then squeeze in lemon juice and taste for salt and pepper. Bring the skillet to the table with toasted bread; leftovers also make a good lunch spooned over rice.