'SCAROL AND BEANS..ESCAROLE AND BEANS, A SOUTHERN ITALIAN CLASSIC
This classic Italian dish which mostprobably comes from the southern regions of Italy is another one of those recipes which relied heavily on the
available foods in the area. While today's Italian or Italian-American experience is full of lusty meats, cheeses,
pastas...the early Italian immigrants left their country for parts unknown to them in search of a better life. They
heard about the streets in America paved with gold and ventured on stormy seas and crowded ships to get their
little piece of the good life. Those meats, cheeses and pastas were occasional treats, even only a holiday treat to
them and most of their daily meals consisted of beans and vegetables flavored with little bits of the good stuff
to make it delicious and special. As so many of the early dishes evolved using the bounty of obtainable foods in
America, this dish of Escarole and Beans is pretty much as it was when it made the trip across the ocean. Olive
Oil, garlic, cannellini beans, a little pecorino, and escarole which they could grow in their yards are the only things
one needs for a 'Scarol e fazul", Escarole and Beans. You don't have to stop there, but once you have the
base down, you may keep it original....or you can add sausage, or small soup macaroni like ditalini or tubettini or
farfalline or stelle..or, if you are like me, just as is.
Start with a souppot, and heat 2 tbsl of olive oil, and saute 4 smashed garlic cloves and 1/2 tsp. of peperoncino together. Do
not let it burn, but let it get a little color, then add 2 cans of cannellini beans (white kidney beans) and mix
well. Let the oil soak into the beans, add 1/8 cup of water
and cook on low for about 10 minutes. In another sauce pan, heat
2 tbs. of olive oil with 2 sliced garlic cloves and one well rinsed and small chopped head of escarole, about 1 lb.
Sprinkle with a little salt and let this sizzle away for about 8 minutes, keep stirring. Add 2 cups of water and
blend well. Now add the cannellini beans and bring the whole thing up to a boil. Then lower the heat to simmer.
Let this simmer for a good 20 minutes, add a little salt to taste and test the doneness of the the escarole.
If it's overly crunchy, you're not done and cook for another 10 minutes. If it's done, then kill the flame and let
it sit for about 10 minutes. Then add a drizzle of olive oil and 4 tbs. of grated pecorino. Stir in and let the soup
sit for another 5 minutes. Now serve, feeds 4.
Simple right? Just check your seasonings..the beans are canned with salt, and you're adding cheese, so just be
careful of overdoing the seasoning. Although there's garlic in the soup, the overall flavor should be mild...it's
real Italian-American Comfort food...
packing away the soup for my lunch today...
Posted by peter battaglia at 2/2/2012 11:07 PM 
Categories: BEANS, ESCAROLE, CANNELLINI BEANS
Tags: BEANS ESCAROLE ITALIAN FOOD ITALIAN VEGETARIAN CANNELLIINI
Categories: BEANS, ESCAROLE, CANNELLINI BEANS
Tags: BEANS ESCAROLE ITALIAN FOOD ITALIAN VEGETARIAN CANNELLIINI
Funny, but I made Cannellini Beans with Cavolo Lacinato tonight. As I have commented previously, Prof., great minds think alike! All the best to you and your family. I hope your New Year is terrific!
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I made a pot yesterday too.
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Well, this may be Italian-American 'comfort food' as far as you are concerned, but we here in Oz are having such a wet and cold summer, methinks we can pinch this recipe and enjoy it like over this weekend
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