This recipe, my friends, elevates white beans to a whole new level.
White beans can be plain. They can be boring. They can be dry. But this recipe calls for them to be slow cooked until they fall apart. They get ridiculously creamy and flavorful. Then you mix in a handful or two of greens and now you’ve got some crunch.
While it takes a couple hours to come together, it’s a lazy person’s best friend. Take 10 minutes to saute the aromatics, then throw the rest in and step away. Sure, you’ll need to check on it every 1/2 hour of so, but it’ll smell so good you won’t mind stepping into the kitchen.
Creamy White Beans With Wilted Greens
Recipe type: Side Dish
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 anchovy fillets, packed in oil (optional but highly recommended)
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 1 Parmesan rind (optional, but highly recommended)
- ½ lb. dried white beans, soaked overnight and drained
- 5 cups water
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 handfuls kale or swiss chard, roughly chopped
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a medium sized dutch oven, heat olive oil. Add anchovy fillets (if using), garlic, and crushed red pepper and cook until anchovies dissolve and garlic is soft.
- Add onion and celery and cook until onions are soft.
- Add in parmesan rind (if using), beans, water, and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, and cover. Cook for 2-2½ hours, stirring occasionally, until beans are very soft and start to fall apart and most of the liquid is absorbed.
- Remove cheese rind then stir in greens. Mix well until greens have wilted and season with ground pepper and more salt, if needed.
Recipe adapted from February 2014’s Bon Appetit magazine.
This meal includes all of my favorite things: white beans, kale, and anchovies. Will make asap.
writes WhitneyLovely. Never knew these were your favorites.
writes VickyThis looks delicious! It reminds me of a sort of bean-y risotto…yum!
writes CakePantsThat’s a great comparison!
writes Vicky[…] Creamy White Beans with Wilted Greens – A surprising winner, as white beans are usually nothing to brag about. In this recipe, […]
writes Two Year Blog Anniversary and My Best Of Choices - Things I Made Today[…] As for the kale, it may be time to bust out my all time favorite summer smoothie (photographs need to be updated anyways), or perhaps mix them in with some creamy white beans. […]
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