White Beans and Greens

A protein-packed nutrient-packed dish for cold winter days and beyond. Like most soups or stews, this is a flexible way to use up leftover vegetables. Use kale, collard or other hearty greens.

But feel free to add in other vegetables, I've used a fistful of leftover green beans sweet potatoes, zucchini. carrots and artichokes. This is the kind of recipes where I use that last bit of the bag of frozen veg. If using cooked vegetables, add them at the end of cooking so they don't overcook.

You can also add a bit of roasted chicken, leftover sausage, charcuterie, pot roast or smoked meats. I most recently made this with the last bits of pulled pork and brisket leftovers from a local BBQ. To avoid overwhelming the dish, don't add more than a cup or so of meat.

I offer this recipe using canned beans for convenience, but you can obviously include dried beans in their place; just simmer them until soft and then commence with the recipe. To make this properly vegetarian, simply swap vegetable stock for chicken.

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Servings: 6

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: French

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

2 tablespoons oil1 medium onion, chopped1 carrot, chopped2 celery stalks, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

6 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock

1 quart water

1 14 oz. can great northern or cannelloni beans, drained, rinsed

1 14 oz. can chopped and seeded tomatoes, or 2 cups fresh

1 to 2 cups other vegetables

1 tablespoon dried mixed Italian herbs

1/2 teaspoon cayenne or red chili flakes (for heat)

2 cups kale or collard greens, roughly chopped

Salt, ground pepper

Grated Parmesan cheese

Method

In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and saute until soft, about three minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the stock, water, beans, tomatoes, vegetables (if raw), herbs, cayenne and pepper and simmer for about 20 minutes. Add greens simmer about 10 minutes. Add soft and pepper to taste. Ladle into bowls; sprinkle with grated Parmesan and a couple grinds of fresh pepper.
To make this in an Instant Pot:
Heat olive oil in the Instant Pot pan on saute. Add onion and cook until soft, about three to five minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the stock, water, beans, tomatoes, vegetables, herbs, cayenne, pepper and any other add-ins such as meats into a pressure cook for 7 minutes. It can stay on warm for at least an hour. Serve with grated cheese and fresh pepper.