Beans & Greens, Western New York Style

Monday, November 24, 2008

After doing some searching on the web, I've found this dish has a lot of names, even in Italian: Fagioli e Verdura, Zuppa di Fagioli e Erbezzone, Fave a Verdura. In this part of the country, it's been a long time side dish at most little "mom & pop" Italian restaurants - not pizza places, but the 6-table, front of somebody's house or strip mall eatery (you know, between the Chinese take-out place and the nail salon). These are the places to get a real taste of the old country - those recipes that have been handed down, and prepared by second or third generation kids and grandkids (who remember that their grandparents used to speak Italian when they didn't want the kids to know what they were saying).

That being said, I'm Italian and Sicilian by proxy - that is my husband is the one with the old recipes, and the Italian grandparents. He's also an incredible cook, with some of his own creations in his blog - in my faves in the sidebar here.

So here we go, Beans & Greens:

2 heads of Escarole (or one pre-cut bag)
1 cup of double-strength Chicken Broth (easiest when using bouillon)
4 cloves of Garlic
1 can of Cannellini Beans, with liquid (argh - forgot the ounces - it's the size of a soup can.)
2 tablespoons of Olive Oil
pinch of Salt
6 cups of Water, for blanching

Coarsely chop the escarole, as if you're making a salad. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot, adding the pinch of salt; blanch the escarole for 1 minute. Drain the escarole, and set aside.
Make your chicken broth - use double the amount of bouillon you would normally use, to end up with a full cup of liquid. (for example, 1 cup of water : 1 whole Knorr cube...but read your bouillon directions, as all cubes are not created equal!) Also set this aside.
Chop or mince the garlic; heat a large skillet with the olive oil; add the garlic when the oil is hot. Saute until the garlic starts to turn brown.
Add the chicken broth to the skillet - it will steam and sizzle, but just keep stirring it in with the garlic.
Add the blanched escarole and the cannellini beans (and the liquid), stir together. Let this simmer on a medium heat for about 5-7 minutes - until the beans are hot too.

This dish can be served as an appetizer, side dish, or lunch.