Greens & Beans
Greens & Beans from the noble home
by Maggie Noble
SERVES: 2 grown-ups as a side, ( but I make this recipe a meal with a crazy amount of garlic bread).
INGREDIENTS:
olive oil 1/2 cup. The better the quality…the better.
garlic 4 cloves, peeled and sliced thin.
garbanzo beans one 15 ounce can. If you are starting with dry beans, you need about two cups of cooked beans with about 1/2 cup of cooking liquid. You can sub with any white bean that you have. I prefer garbanzo because this bean holds its structure when tossed with the kale.
parmesan if you have a little rind to spare, this really enriches the flavor in the cooking process. You can also grate some over the finished dish if you are not vegan.
baby kale 5 ounce container OR 1 bunch of kale, stemmed and chopped, any variety will do but lacinado or black kale is preferred. If you have spinach, that works, too. The kale is just a tougher leaf and makes for a bit heartier a dish but spinach works just fine.
salt & pepper
TOOLS:
chef knife and cutting board
2-3 quart pot
can opener
cooking spatula/spoon I’m enjoying the silicon heatproof variety but a wooden spoon is a standard kitchen tool.
METHOD:
heat olive oil over medium low heat. This will only take a couple of minutes.
add garlic and stir. Pay attention being careful not to burn. Simmer for a couple of minutes on low heat until fragrant.
add garbanzo and cooking liquid, this bean brine from the can of garbanzo beans is called aquafaba. It will be the liquid base for this dish and provides nice mouthfeel/consistency. Stir.
add parmesan rind if you are not vegan. You can just avoid the rind when serving but keep it in as long as possible for increased flavor.
add kale just pile it on top of the bean/olive oil mix. Cover with a lid over medium low heat. Remove lid and stir every couple of minutes until kale is wilted and incorporated into the beans.
season. This gets its own bullet point because getting the seasoning right makes the difference between a crave-able restaurant-grade dish and … ‘this seems good for me so, I’ll eat it’. I used about a Tablespoon of salt for this recipe. Taste as you go, though. You can always add more but you can’t take it out so start small and taste. Don’t forget a dash of pepper.
NOTES:
This is a favorite dish in our house, for the grown-ups, anyway. I serve it with a heap of garlic bread and a little side bowl of tomato sauce for the kids to dunk their bread into. Only the 1 year old is brave enough to try the ceci (Italian for garbanzo bean).
