The original version of this recipe calls for cannellini beans, but any light-colored bean works. I wouldn’t recommend pinto beans or any other brown or red bean, though; the flavor is too dark and muddy here. And you’ll note that, if you use canned beans rather than beans cooked from dried, you’ll need to add some stock. I like chicken stock – though you could use vegetable, I’m sure – and in a pinch, Better Than Bouillon is more than adequate. Be sure to have some bread on hand when you serve this, and be sure to toast that bread and rub it with garlic. We usually keep the bread on the side, but you can also ladle the escarole and beans over it and let it get all nice and juicy and sogged. [Ed. Note: Recipe by Molly Wizenberg's Orangette blog, adapted from All About Braising by Molly Stevens.]
This recipe for the Louisiana classic dish serves 10 on a Monday night in New Orleans, or anywhere and anytime lovers of New Orleans gather.
If the mainland's caldo verde is an uptown kale soup, then this Azorean version is definitely its downtown cousin. It's a more rugged dish. This is my mom's recipe, which she's been making for almost 50 years. What I like about it, and what my mother always insists on, is that it has a sizable amount of chouriço -- not the miserly single slice of caldo verde.
A hearty, comforting dish full of saucy, tomato-laden beans, salty cheese, and crisp bread crumbs.
Usually beans are eaten by themselves (often with rosemary and extra virgin olive oil), or with pork and vegetables. This is a rare combination with seafood, and it provides a particularly delicate taste. The recipe is cooked in two parts.
When we use canned beans, we like to give them a little love before we dress them. Drain them into a sieve, give them a good rinse under cold running water, then drain well and toss with a drizzle of olive oil and season with salt. Then go in with your dressing.
I know it is a cliché, but this soup really can be made in less than an hour and tastes like it simmered all day. Minestrone lends itself to variations, so improvise with the ingredients that you have on hand. If you were wise enough to freeze pesto at the end of the summer, you can turn this soup into Minestrone alla Genovese by stirring about 1/4 cup of the pesto into the pot just before serving.
Ingredients
Given 15 minutes for prep, a slow cooker, some dried beans, garlic, onions and whatever seasoning moves you, you can launch a bean stew or this Quick and Spicy Bean Soup. Take off to bed and wake up with a couple of days of good eating ready to go.
Nothing puts a smile on people’s faces faster while at the same time setting their tongues ablaze, like these grilled jalapeño poppers. Sans cheese, and debuting with a snazzy new look, these Shiny Happy Poppers are every bit a modern twist on what still remains a classic firebrand when it comes to pregame appetizers. However, a word to the wise: Having an ice-cold beer nearby is highly recommended, should this blaze get out of control.