Peel the beans and cut into 2 cm long pieces. Put in plenty of boiling salted water.
In the meantime, finely chop 1 clove of garlic. Cut the basil into strips approx. 3 mm wide. Core the peperoncino or chilli pepper and cut into small pieces.
Heat 4 tablespoons of cold-pressed olive oil in a pan and sauté the garlic and chili peppers, but do not let them brown. Add tomatoes and basil, season with salt and cover and simmer gently.
When the beans have cooked for 10 minutes, add the pasta and cook until the pasta is `al dente`. Strain together with the beans and mix both into the tomato sauce and serve immediately with freshly grated parmesan.
In Calabria, this dish is made with tonnarelli. These are square spaghetti that are made on a `chitarra`, a rectangular wooden frame covered with metal wires through which the dough sheets are pressed.