Italian Greens and Beans With Sausage Variation
"I've heard some people call it Minestra. Whatever it is, it's good. Try it."
photo by dupuis2387
- Ready In:
- 50mins
- Ingredients:
- 8
- Serves:
-
4
ingredients
- 2 -3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 yellow onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 lb hot Italian sausage
- 1 -2 head escarole
- 1 tomatoes
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 (15 ounce) cans cannellini beans, thoroughly rinsed and drained
directions
- I process onions and garlic lightly, then saute them in olive oil until they are transparent in a good-sized pot on medium. (I suppose you could chop these things, but why? Also, by "good-sized" I mean a pot that will contain all of the escarole leaves).
- Add sausage and cook thoroughly, but not overly. Turn up the heat a bit.
- When sausage is looking about done, add tomato chopped to your liking. I chop it small.
- Add the cleaned and rinsed escarole. Sometimes Escarole heads can be really big or pretty puny. Since 2 puny heads (~size of a larger grapefruit) = 1 really big head (~size of a football), opt for whatever combination you can get. To clean it, I just take off a bunch of leaves, rinse them under cold water, snap them in half, and throw them in the pot. Don't worry about water getting into the pot. Let the escarole cook all the way down to the point you see the lines at the base of the leaf. You'll see what I mean. Don't undercook it. You'll taste it and it's not a good taste. At this point I rely on the taste test to know when it's done.
- Once escarole is sufficiently wilted, add your canellini beans. Of course, make sure they are sufficiently rinsed then drained. Heat them thoroughly.
- Add chicken stock, more or less depending on how soupy you want it. The broth is so good that you may want to make it soupy, which I did the second time around!
- Let it simmer until the outer layer sheds off of the canellini beans. Serve with some warm crusty bread (I use the whole grain because it's SBD-friendly) and enjoy!
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Reviews
-
good, but can also use smoked spareribs, pork hocks, etc..... also undrained red beans; very adaptable to almost anything, ditalini at the end and wow -
I used chorizzo instead (i'm a vegetarian :) ) and my family really loved it -
This is really good. The recipe is really easy to follow, and explained very well. That was great for me since I never cooked escarole and would not know what to look for or how long to cook it. My husband loves greens and beans- his father used to make it years ago. Now, He frequently gets it from a restaurant near us. I tried making it once from a recipe I got online, but it was not good. I decided to try again when I came accross this recipe. I'm glad I did. I don't put the tomatoes in, and I use lots of garlic and garlic powder. Last time I made it- I also put in little chunks of pepperoni(my father-in-law used to put pepperoni in his) This is the best we've found yet. I've made it 3 times already in less than 2 months. Really good.
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
I am a make-up artist for Dior.
I have a degree from UC Davis in History, emphasizing Africa. I studied conflict in Africa (the one that occurs near the "Great Lakes" region, in particular) and its historical foundation.
For fun, I go to my parents house in Galt, shopping, or to SF. My hobbies include needlework, painting, stained glass, and whatever else craft I happen to be into at the moment. I enjoy gambling quite a bit but take it way too seriously to have it just as a "hobby."
My favorite cookbook is the red binder my Mom gave me, but I do like "Vegetarian cooking for everyone." I love this book, She should rename it, "Vegetarian cooking for people that prefer to eat meat."
Oh, pet peeves. I have many. I'm known for my pet peeves: People who make judgments on subjects they're not fully aware of rather than just remaining neutral (as they should!), snoring, weird table manners, inability to admit when one is wrong (even when it is one's self who is wrong,) and I can go on but I will stop.
Finally, I hate eating food that's gross. My friends and my roommate find it remarkable that I opt not to eat at all rather than settle for gross food. That's what happens when you grow up with a great cook in the house. Actually, both of my parents are naturally inclined as cooks. But I don't tell my Dad this because it feeds his ego. Mom's still a better cook than him anyway.
