Heat & Knives

The Recipe

Source: Cucina del Sole: A Celebration of Southern Italian Cooking by Nancy Harmon Jenkins:

1 cup dried white beans, soaked for 6 hours or overnight
1 large bunch of escarole (about 1 pound)
1 or 2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1 crisp green celery stalk, coarsely chopped
5 or 6 flat-leaf parsley sprigs, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus oil for serving
12 cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1 dried red chili (optional)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
toasted slices of bread, for serving

Drain the beans, put them in a saucepan, and add fresh water to cover by about 1 inch. Bring to a simmer over low heat, cover, and cook for 40 to 60 minutes, or until the beans are tender. Drain the beans, reserving the bean liquid.

Measure the bean liquid and add enough water to make 2 ½ cups.

Rinse and core the escarole. Chop the leaves into pieces about 1 inch long. Add them to the saucepan in which you cooked the beans, cover the pan and cook the escarole over gentle heat in the water clinging to its leaves until it is tender. Be careful not to let it scorch, adding a little boiling water to the pan if it starts to burn. When it is tender, set it aside with any liquid remaining in the pan.

Chop together the garlic, celery, and parsley to make about ½ cup finely minced aromatics. In a small skillet, cook the aromatics gently in the olive oil for about 10 minutes or until they give off fragrance but are not brown. Stir in the halved tomatoes and continue cooking until the tomatoes have shriveled somewhat and given off lots of juice.