Ingredients: Difficulty Rating: Easy
1 8 oz. can cannellini
beans2 medium heads of escarole – preferably organic
6 medium cloves of garlic-well diced
½ medium onion, diced
2 Tablespoons olive oil (not extra virgin)
About ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Freshly grated Pecorino-Romano cheese
Extra Virgin Olive Oil to taste
Preparation
Rinse the
beans well. Don’t keep the liquid that
the beans come in. Some recipes may tell
you to keep the liquid because it will make the dish creamier, but the sugars,
starch and sodium from the beans are concentrated in the liquid and that is the
part you want toget rid of.
Rip the
escarole into medium size pieces and rinse very well. I usually spray it with Eat Cleaner, All
Natural Fruit and Vegetable cleaner while I’m rinsing it. Then spin or pat dry.
Add 2
Tablespoons of olive oil to a large sauté pan over a medium flame. A large pan is needed because you’ll add the
escarole at once. It will shrink
tremendously, but to hold it all in the beginning, the pan has to be big.
When the oil
is hot, but not yet smoking, add the crushed red pepper and the onions. Sauté them for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally,
and add the garlic and a little bit of the salt. Let it sauté until the garlic
is translucent. Be sure it doesn’t burn.
Add the beans, stir and sauté for another 5 minutes.
Add the escarole to the pan. It will be a lot of escarole, but it cooks down quickly.
Cover the pan and let it cook over a low/medium flame for about 7 minutes. It will cook down quite a bit.
Uncover, add salt, pepper and Pecorino Romano to taste. I often add a bit of good fruity Extra Virgin Olive Oil as well Ahhhh.... delicious.
Escarole and beans can be served so many different ways. We've had it as a main dish, as a side dish, over pasta, over risotto and even for breakfast.
That's how I had it today - as part of my favorite meal, breakfast.
How?
With sunny side eggs! Sound crazy?
Give it a try. It's delicious!
