Need a quick-and-easy recipe to add to your COVID-19 shelter-at-home cooking repertoire? Try this take on greens and beans. You likely have everything you need in your pantry and may only need to source a dark leafy green for the fresh part.
You can take the finished dish in a number of directions: Put it on tacos; add extra stock and make it into a delicious soup; add an additional protein of choice to it (tofu, tempeh, sausage, pancetta, bacon); add a medium dice of firm fruit such as apple or pear for a pop of sweetness; or vary the seasoning according to what you’re in the mood for—almost anything goes here!
Ingredients
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, thinly sliced
3 whole cloves of garlic, peeled and slightly smashed
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2–3 T apple cider vinegar
1 bunch kale, chard or another sturdy green, deribbed and sliced in ½-inch strips
1 cup of chicken or vegetable stock
Aleppo pepper or red chili flake of choice
kosher salt
Heat 12-inch sauté pan or wide Dutch oven over medium heat. Add extra virgin olive oil to coat pan and heat until it thins and shimmers. Add sliced onions and season with salt. Sautè until onions soften and caramelize, about 5 minutes.
Add whole, smashed garlic cloves (If you’d like a super-garlicky dish, you can mince the garlic instead) and toss for about 20 seconds. When the pan is nearly dry and the onions have some nice browning, add the apple cider vinegar to deglaze the pan, swirling the liquid until it’s almost evaporated. Scrape up the brown bits (flavor!) in the pan as you do this. Add the beans and season with a sprinkle of salt and some Aleppo pepper. Mix gently with wooden spoon or tongs.
Add the greens, season with more Aleppo and then add the broth to steam the greens. Turn the greens under the bean and onion mixture to coat all greens in liquid. Cover and steam for about 5–7 minutes, combining the mixture every couple of minutes to distribute the heat equitably among the greens. Remove from heat and serve warm. Add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil over the dish for a little extra richness and complexity.
By Sandy Todd Webster, IDEAFit
Sandy Todd Webster is the editor in chief of IDEA’s award-winning publications. She is Precision Nutrition Level 1 certified and is a Rouxbe Certified Plant-Based Professional cook.
