Brothy Beans & Greens
For something so simple—literally dried beans, some aromatics, and water—brothy beans are delicious, comforting, and feel super sophisticated. My Brothy Beans & Greens adds kale to round this dish out into more of a soup or stew. Topped with some fresh herbs and a generous helping of freshly grated parmesan, this dish has been one of my favourite cozy meals to make this winter.
Servings 6 people
Equipment
- Large Dutch oven or soup pot
Ingredients
- 1 lb dry white cannellini beans (2 cups)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, peeled and quartered
- 1 large jalapeño pepper, halved lengthwise and deseeded
- 1 large head of garlic, halved crosswise
- 10 cups water
- 2 tablespoons sea salt, divided
- 2 bay leaves
- 5 sprigs of thyme
- 1 parmesan rind
- 1 large bunch lacinato kale, destemmed and roughly chopped
- Juice of half a lemon
- Fresh black pepper
To Serve
- Italian parsley
- Olive oil
- Freshly grated parmesan cheese
- Flaky salt and fresh black pepper
- Crusty sourdough bread
Instructions
- Add the dry beans to a large bowl and cover them with 8 cups of warm water and 1 tablespoon of sea salt. Mix to dissolve the salt. Soak the beans for 8 to 12 hours, or overnight.
- After 8 to 12 hours, drain and rinse the beans, picking out and discarding any that are shrivelled or damaged.
- Heat a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat, then add the olive oil. Once the oil is shimmering, add the quartered onion, halved jalapeño, and the head of garlic, cut side down, to the oiled pan. Sear for 3 minutes, flipping the onions to get even browning on each side.
- Add the drained beans to the Dutch oven along with 10 cups of water, the bay leaves, fresh herbs, parmesan rind, and 1 tablespoon of sea salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover the pot and simmer on low for about one hour and 40 minutes, checking the beans every once in a while to make sure they have enough cooking liquid.
- Check the beans to ensure they are cooked. I like to check about 5 beans because they can cook at different speeds, so testing one might not be representative of the whole pot.
- Pluck out the bay leaves, jalapeño, herb stems, parmesan rind, and the garlic skin. Make sure to squeeze any garlic cloves left in the skins out into the beans!
- Season the beans with another tablespoon of sea salt, stirring well to dissolve. Add the chopped kale and stir until the kale has wilted into the beans. Cook for a further 3 minutes.
- Remove the beans from the heat and stir in the juice of half a lemon. Season with lots of fresh black pepper. Serve the brothy beans with fresh parsley, a drizzle of olive oil, freshly grated Parmesan, and a side of crusty bread.