Italian Greens and Beans
Italian greens and beans - a one pot vegan meal served in Italy as a main course made from white cannellini beans flavored with seasonal greens, garlic, red pepper flakes and plenty of olive oil.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic peeled and smashed
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes plus more to taste
- 1 large bunch escarole or swiss chard cleaned and with stems removed (about 10-12 oz)
- 2 15-oz cans cannellini beans drained and rinsed (or 30 oz homemade cannellini beans)
- 1 ½ - 2 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth (or bean cooking liquid, if you've made your beans from scratch)
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 parmesan cheese rind optional
Instructions
- Clean the greens by soaking them in water and spinning them with a salad spinner. Remove any stalky stems and chop roughly and set aside.
- In a large skillet or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over low heat. Peel and smash the garlic. Add it to the oil and let it infuse into the olive oil over low heat for 1 minute, being careful it does not burn. Add the red pepper flakes and let cook for another minute or so.
- Add the greens (you may need to do this in batches depending on the size of your pan) and a generous pinch of salt and gently cook until wilted, anywhere from 2-5 minutes.
- Add the cannellini beans, 1 ½ cups of broth (or bean cooking liquid), the parmesan rind, if using, and plenty of freshly ground black pepper, and combine. Bring the Italian greens and beans up to a boil, turn down the heat to low and simmer gently until the broth has thickened, anywhere from 8-12 minutes, stirring periodically. While cooking, smash some of the cannellini beans with the back of a wooden spoon or fork, which will create a creamy texture. If it seems to dry, add another ½ cup of broth. Remove the garlic cloves.
- Remove from the heat and squeeze in the lemon juice. Test for seasoning (this will depend on the type of broth you used and its sodium content) and season with salt and pepper accordingly.
- Serve with crusty bread, parmesan cheese, if you like and a hefty guzzle of extra virgin olive oil.
Notes
If you are looking to make this meal as affordable as possible, make your own cannellini beans, which cost a fraction of the price of canned beans. You can also make a big batch and use the leftover beans for other recipes such as minestrone, fagioli all’uccelletto and ribollita.
If you are looking to save time, however, opt for canned cannellini beans which make preparing these Italian greens and beans without any prep or pre-planning. If I am really crunched for time, I will also pick up pre-washed greens such as baby kale or swiss chard, which can further facilitate preparing a meal like this on busy weekdays.
This Italian greens and beans recipe is a great make-ahead meal. You can make it earlier in the day or several days in advance without compromising quality or texture. At most, add a fresh squeeze of lemon juice right before serving or even a spoonful of gremolata.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!