Dinner Tonight: Quick White Bean Stew with Swiss Chard and Tomatoes
This Recipe First Appeared In: This Week's Tasty 10
[Photograph: Nick Kindelsperger]
With the cold weather sinking in and the holiday decor up, all I can think about are stews for dinner. As with week's acorn squash with shrimp and green bean stew, it doesn't have to involve tons of meat. The combination of greens and beans might not sound like a winner but with some extra-virgin olive oil and a sprinkling of good Parmesan, they manage to taste meaty and satisfying.
This recipe from Food & Wine manages to oddly taste comforting and labored over, even though it's impossibly easy to make. I guess I should expect nothing less from a personal recipe of Joe Bastianich who has opened a few great restaurants in New York (like Babbo and Otto) and whose mother is a certain Lidia Bastianich.
Sometimes you think you have Italian cuisine sussed out and then something truly humble like this comes along and makes you fall in love all over again.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Swiss chard, larger stems removed, and leaves chopped
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 cup canned tomatoes, chopped
- 1 16-ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- Salt and pepper
- Grated Parmesan
Procedures
-
1
Fill a large pot halfway up with water. Bring to a boil and then toss in the swiss chard leaves. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 8 minutes. Drain the chard in a colander.
-
2
Wipe out any excess water in the pot. Then pour in the olive oil and turn the heat to medium. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper and cook for 1 minutes, stirring occasionally.
-
3
Add the tomatoes, turn the heat to medium-high, and when the mixture comes to a boil add the beans. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring often.
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4
Reduce heat to a simmer and add the chard. Cook for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add some grated Parmesan to finish.
23 comments:
This does look good. And I'm with you on the the simple, which seems to be a hallmark of Lidia's dishes, too. A favorite of mine of hers is olive oil, garlic, bread crumbs and parm on a strand pasta. wonderful.
lemonfair at 7:54AM on 12/08/09
I made this last night with kale instead of chard and it was AMAZING. A splash of lemon juice at the very end was also key. So good.
jammin83 at 10:43AM on 12/08/09
@jammin83: A squeeze of lemon would be perfect. Nice thought.
Nick Kindelsperger at 11:01AM on 12/08/09
This sounds yummy! I can't wait to try this.
Brownie at 2:02PM on 12/08/09
I make something similar with onions, chickpeas and fresh rosemary.
I made this one last night and it really hit the spot!.
Hilde at 6:06PM on 12/08/09
This sound delicious, but is a 1/4 cup oil REALLY necessary? It seems like a lot. Most recipes I'm familiar with seem to only call for 1 or 2 tablespoons. I might try this, with less oil.
UptownGirl at 2:32AM on 12/09/09
I made this for diner last night. It was a tasty and filling meal. The only addition I made was to add half a pound of pancetta into the mix for a little bit of texture. Delicious.
PackYourLunch at 8:46AM on 12/09/09
Yummy! Made this last night and I am going to eat it for lunch today. I used Kale instead of Chard and also added some Italian sausage. Great meal. Thanks!
chelseyrue at 11:17AM on 12/09/09
made this last night with crushed tomatoes i had on hand, but there wasn't nearly enough liquid! i ended up adding the entire 28oz can and my stew was more of a thick, thick sauce for pasta - still delicious though! also added much more crushed red pepper and a few liberal splashes of balsamic vinegar.
soopi25 at 1:59PM on 12/09/09
It's not easy to find Swiss Chard or Kale in the south so can I substitute collards or turnip greens?
Uncle Dudley at 4:29PM on 12/09/09
Try adding a squeeze of lemon and a !/2 tspn of ground cumin. yum! Dave
old chef at 4:44PM on 12/09/09
This was truly a delicious meal...and so easy! I took the suggestions of adding a little bit of lemon juice. Also added a bit of lemon zest and it really added a nice note. YUM!
jnfisher01 at 5:56PM on 12/09/09
Add some bread and dinner is ready. Yes, lemon does sound like a great touch with cheese of course.
charcooks at 6:59PM on 12/09/09
I am so making this next week. Yum!
tastyeatsathome at 10:55AM on 12/10/09
I make variations of this all the time. Any greens will work in a dish like this. If you have time, cook the beans from scratch. It really makes a difference.
Neoveggieman at 3:50PM on 12/12/09
Tip: You can cook a big pot of dried white beans in advance, then refrigerate for quite a while in the bean cooking liquid (leftover yogurt containers are really handy for storing cooked beans). Then you have the same convenience factor as canned, but with the nicer taste of home-cooked beans and less expense.
Using that approach, this was an incredibly quick and tasty dinner. I used kale instead of chard, and braised it in white wine and chicken stock instead of boiling, for some extra flavor. Thanks for sharing this recipe Nick!
politicfool at 11:22AM on 12/14/09
We do a similar thing with pinto beans. tomatoes, chard and goat cheese and serve it over brown rice. My hubby loves it.
Everyday-gifts at 12:25PM on 12/14/09
This came out REALLY well for us. Initially, I didn't add the liquid from the tomatoes, and it looked a little dry / thick. Instead, we added 1 cup of veggie broth and it came out excellent. Our local store didn't have chard, so we replaced it with Escarole, and loved it. This is going in the receipe book. Big thumbs up!
jargent at 8:04PM on 12/14/09
just tried this for dinner and it was great! Perfect for a cold winter night. We'll definitely have this dish again!
spartygirl at 8:03PM on 12/29/09
Just made this tonight - it's a nice soup that really does taste like you spent forever on it. I ended up adding a cup of fat free broth at the end and also cut back the olive oil to two tablespoons. It's excellent.
stinapa at 8:32PM on 12/29/09
(I also used escarole instead of chard - my store was out of it.)
stinapa at 8:32PM on 12/29/09
Made this last night with Kale and it was very good. Kale doesnt cook down as much as Chard, so keep that in mind if you go that route. Also, I found that we needed a whole 28oz can of tomatoes, rather than the smaller can suggested here. This could be partly due to the kale, which as I said, doesn't cook down, but I could see how this might get a bit dry and thick without some additional liquid in it.
Very good recipe!
aravenel at 10:42AM on 01/08/10
i've made this a few times now and add extra tomatoes, an extra can of beans and grill sausages to go on the side. and the best part? leftovers the next day!
Frances G. at 12:58AM on 02/22/10