Warm Tuscan White Bean And Tomato Salad With Lemon Vinaigrette Food

WARM TUSCAN BEAN SALAD

Steps:

• Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Cook carrots and onion in oil 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are crisp-tender.
• Stir in beans, 1/2 cup reserved liquid, the oregano and pepper. Cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Line large platter with spinach. Top with bean mixture. Pour vinaigrette over salad. Sprinkle with bacon bits.

TUSCAN LEMON CHICKEN WITH WARM BEAN SALAD

Steps:

• If using dry beans, rinse beans and place in bowl.
• Cover with three inches of water; leave to soak overnight or at least eight hours.
• Drain beans.
• Place in large saucepan, coverered with three inches of water.
• Do NOT salt.
• Allow to simmer one to two hours till soft (older beans take longer).
• Drain.
• If using canned beans, empty beans into colander and rinse well with warm water.
• Place chicken in baking dish large enough to accomodate all the pieces.
• A 12" x 9" pan should be adequate.
• Roughly chop five (or more if you love it) cloves of garlic.
• Sprinkle chopped garlic with coarse salt.
• Mash garlic and salt into a paste.
• Rub paste onto chicken pieces; sprinkle with ground pepper.
• Whisk together the lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of oil, 2 tablespoons of rosemary, the grated rind and the sugar.
• Pour mixture over chicken, cover chicken and chill up to three hours.
• If you like, you can turn it in the marinade once or twice--not a critical step.
• Preheat oven to 350°F Place drained cannellini in a large skillet.
• Add the remaining garlic, chopped fine, the remaining rosemary and olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
• Uncover chicken and bake 35-40 minutes, basting occasionally.
• Remove from oven.
• Preheat broiler.
• Broil chicken till golden brown--3-5 minutes.
• When the chicken is almost done, gently warm the beans till heated through.
• Ladle beans onto serving platter.
• Top with chicken and juices from pan.
• Note: If you would like more sauce (and your baking dish is safe for the stovetop--if not, scrape any fond into a saute pan), place baking dish over medium high heat, add a splash of white wine and or chicken stock, deglaze and reduce.