Italian White Bean Stew Food

EASY ITALIAN WHITE BEAN STEW

Steps:

• Heat a dutch oven (or large soup pot) over medium heat.
• Add the olive oil and bacon and cook, stirring, until the bacon is almost cooked, 3-4 minutes.
• Add the onion, celery, garlic, and chili flakes and a pinch of salt and pepper. Continue to cook, stirring, until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.
• Add the white wine and continue to cook, stirring and scraping up any of the browned bits on the bottom, until the wine has reduced by half, about 2 minutes.
• Add the beans, broth, cheese rind, rosemary, oregano, bay leaf, lemon zest, salt, and pepper and bring contents to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a light simmer (about medium-low heat), cover, and cook for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Stir in spinach, if using, and the juice of a lemon. Taste and add more salt and pepper, if desired. Continue to cook, uncovered and simmering, for about 5 more minutes.
• Serve in bowls and top with a tiny drizzle of olive oil, a sprinkle of grated parmesan and parsley. Enjoy.

ITALIAN WHITE BEAN AND SAUSAGE STEW

Steps:

• Soak beans in cold water, 8 hours to overnight.
• Drain beans and set aside.
• Make a cut down the center of each sausage and peel off the casing. Transfer sausage into a dry soup pot over medium-high heat. Brown sausage, while breaking it up into small pieces with a wooden spoon, 5 to 7 minutes. Cook and stir until juices start to caramelize and stick to the bottom of the pan, creating a fond, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Add onion and stir to coat in the rendered sausage fat. Cook until onion starts to turn translucent, about 5 minutes. Add white wine to deglaze the pot. Add black pepper, red pepper flakes, bay leaf, and water.
• Add drained beans, increase heat to high, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes. Add salt and continue to simmer until beans are tender, about 30 more minutes. Taste beans to be certain they are perfectly cooked.
• Smash about 1/4 of the beans with a potato masher to give the stew a creamy texture if desired. Stir in chopped kale, increase heat to medium, and cook until tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Taste and adjust salt.
• Ladle hot soup into bowls, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and a pinch of red pepper flakes.

ITALIAN CHICKEN AND BEAN STEW

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, skin side down, and cook, until browned on both sides, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
• Reduce the heat to medium, add the onion, garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until the onions are soft, about 7 minutes. Add the tomato paste and stir until it coats the onions and is a shade darker, about 1 minute. Pour in the wine and scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the skillet. Add the broth, beans, tomatoes and oregano and bring to a boil. Nestle the chicken in the skillet along with any juices from the plate. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until the chicken is cooked through, about 25 minutes.
• Transfer the chicken thighs to a platter. Stir the cheese into the bean mixture and season with salt and pepper and garnish with fresh oregano if using. Serve with the chicken and extra parmesan cheese for topping.

ITALIAN SAUSAGE SOUP WITH WHITE BEANS

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven or large, heavy bottomed pot. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and cook until beginning to soften, about 4-5 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Add the Italian sausage, breaking it up into smaller pieces. Cook, stirring occasionally, until browned. Stir in the garlic cloves and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. If there's a lot of fat in the pan, drain or use paper towels to sop up all but about 1 Tablespoon of fat.
• Pour in the chicken broth and beans and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and add the rainbow chard, stirring until wilted, about 3 minutes. Taste and season as needed.
• Serve with Parmesan flakes and crusty bread.

WHITE BEAN STEW

Steps:

• In a large skillet heat garlic in oil until golden. Add white wine and cook about a minute until evaporated. Add the cannelini beans, broth and red pepper flakes and oregano. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes just to heat through; adjust seasonings. Add parsley and remove from heat. Garnish with red pepper.

HERBED WHITE BEAN AND SAUSAGE STEW

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium-high. Add the sausage and brown until cooked through, about 7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a plate lined with a paper towel.
• Add the tomato paste and cumin to the pot. Cook, stirring, until dark golden, about 2 minutes. Add the carrots, celery, onion and garlic. Cook, stirring, until the vegetables have softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the beans, 8 cups water, salt, thyme, rosemary and bay leaf. Turn the heat up to high and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to low and simmer gently until the beans are tender, about 2 hours, adding more water if needed to make sure the beans remain submerged.
• When beans are tender, return the sausage to the pot. Simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the vinegar and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning. Ladle into warm bowls and serve drizzled with more vinegar and olive oil.