Fagioli e Scarola (Beans and Escarole)
5
- Prep Time10 min
- Total Time20 min
- Makes2 as a main dish, 4 as a side
Recipes and text by Chantal Braganza; Produced by Aimee Nishitoba; Photography by Christie Vuong; Food Styling by Sage Dakota; Prop Styling by Nicole Billark
You’d be shocked at how much texture lettuce can retain when braised: a soft crunch gives way to a sweet vegetal zing.
Ingredients
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 to 3 anchovy fillets
1 red chili, thinly sliced
1 to 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 large head escarole, washed, dried and roughly torn
1 398-mL can navy or cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (see tip)
1 cup hot chicken broth (optional)
Instructions
Heat a large frying pan over medium. Add oil, then anchovies and chili. Cook, slowly mashing anchovies into a paste. Add garlic. Cook until fragrant, 1 to 2 min.
Add lettuce and beans. Stir to coat well. Cover and steam until escarole is bright green and a little watery, 1 to 2 min. Taste, then season with salt and pepper, if desired.
Reduce heat to low. Cook, covered, until escarole tips are tender but the base of leaves are still crunchy and a bit firm, 8 to 10 min.
Serve as is, over toast, or—with a ladle of hot chicken broth—as a thick soup. Drizzle a little oil overtop, if desired.
Kitchen tip
Use 1 ½ cups cooked beans if using dried beans.
Find more recipes celebrating green produce and olive oil in this recipe collection.
Chantal Braganza is a writer and editor living in Toronto. She is deputy editor, food at Chatelaine, a cookbook nerd, lover of vintage dish ware, and currently training for yoga teacher certification. Her first book, Story of Your Mother, is out with Strange Light Press.
