Beans 'N Greens

One of my favorite comfort foods. "Beans 'n Greens" is another example of simple but delicious southern Italian peasant cooking. Cannellini beans, escarole, garlic, tomatoes, olive oil and basil over grilled crusty bread rubbed with garlic and topped with shredded pecorino cheese. This is my aunt Janet and uncle Joe's recipe.

Totally satisfying any time of year but especially during the fall and winter. You will love this!

Ingredients: - for 4 but increase ingredients in this ratio for more

3 cans cannellini beans rinsed and drained

1 head of escarole stub end cut off and the leaves roughly chopped

4 cloves of garlic divided - three minced for the soup and one whole for the bread

1 handful of fresh basil

5 whole canned San Marzano tomatoes, chopped or torn apart with your hands

2 cups chicken stock

2 tablespoons olive oil plus more at the table

Locatelli Pecorino cheese - grated

Thick sliced crusty bread like ciabatta - grilled or toasted
Crushed red pepper flakes to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

How to -

Bring a pot of water to a boil (a Dutch oven works well), add a pinch of salt and the escarole. Blanch for 2 - 3 minutes. Drain and set aside in a bowl.

Add olive oil to the same pot along with the beans and the minced garlic and sauté for 3 - 5 minutes

Add the chicken stock and tomatoes

Add the blanched escarole to the pot with the beans and tomatoes, heat on medium high for a couple minutes. Add a little water if it seems too thick.

Grill or toast a few slices of good crusty bread, rub both sides with a clove of garlic.

Put a slice of the garlic bread in the bottom of each soup bowl.

Ladle the beans and greens over the grilled bread, toss on some fresh basil and top with a sprinkle of grated pecorino cheese, a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes and a drizzle of good olive oil. 

ENJOY!

Sicilian Pot Roast

Now that Fall is here, it's time for some hearty fare. So, here you go. While pot roast is not something you would find on a Sicilian table, it is our take on a pot roast that includes some wonderfully flavorful ingredients that are found in Sicilian/Southern Italian cuisine - fennel, tomatoes, garlic, olives, rosemary, red wine, orange zest. We even added a few fresh figs. Why not!

Ingredients - serves 4 or 2 with great leftovers

Chuck roast - 2 - 3 lb

1 can whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes - crush them with your hands

4 - 5 shallots chopped

1 fennel bulb cut into slices lengthwise, reserve the fronds

1/2 cup dry red wine - we used Valpolicella

3 sprigs of rosemary - leave whole

7 - 9 thin pieces of orange zest about 1/2 inch wide by 3 inches long, reserve the rest of the orange

1 cup pitted green Italian olives, NOT those Spanish ones in brine - we used Catelvetrano but you could use Kalamata olives in a pinch

6 fresh figs cut in half. Or you could use dried if fresh are not in season

1 head of garlic - roasted and the cloves separated and squeezed from their paper shells

1 tablespoon ground fennel seeds - we have an electric coffee bean grinder we use just for this kind of thing

Salt and pepper

Water

Directions 

Salt and pepper the roast and brown in a Dutch oven in two tablespoons of olive oil

Remove to a plate

Season and saute the fennel and shallots in the roast juices and a little olive oil

Add the wine

Add  the meat back in

Orange zest slices

Add the orange zest, rosemary, tomatoes, a cup of water. Stir everything together 

Add the roasted garlic and and figs. Put in oven at 325. Roast covered for 4 hours, checking regularly and adding water if needed. 

When done, pull the meat apart, add the olives and ground fennel and stir through

Serve over mashed potatoes with an orange wedge and add the fennel fronds. Serve the same type of wine you used cooking the roast. Squeeze some orange juice over the meat.