Slow Baked Beans With Kale Martha Rose Shulman Recipes

SLOW-BAKED BEANS WITH KALE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 225 degrees. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt generously and add the kale. Blanch for two minutes, then transfer to a bowl of ice water. Drain, squeeze out water and cut into ribbons. Set aside. (I blanch the kale to extract some of the bitterness, but you can skip this step if you wish).
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat in a large ovenproof casserole. Add the onion, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring often, until the onion is tender, about five minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute. Add the dissolved tomato paste, and bring to a simmer.
• Add the drained beans, the remaining water, the bouquet garni, herbes de Provence and salt and pepper.. Stir in the kale, bring to a simmer, cover and place in the oven. Bake three hours until the beans are tender and creamy. Taste and adjust salt.
• Mix together the remaining olive oil and the bread crumbs. Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the beans, and continue to bake another 30 minutes to an hour until the bread crumbs are lightly browned. Remove from the heat and serve; or allow to cool slightly and serve.

SLOW-BAKED BEANS WITH KALE (MARTHA ROSE SHULMAN)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 225°F Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt generously and add the kale. Blanch for two minutes, then transfer to a bowl of ice water. Drain, squeeze out water and cut into ribbons. Set aside. (I blanch the kale to extract some of the bitterness, but you can skip this step.).
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat in a large ovenproof casserole. Add the onion, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring often, until the onion is tender, about five minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute. Add the dissolved tomato paste, and bring to a simmer.
• Add the drained beans, the remaining water, the bouquet garni, herbes de Provence and salt and pepper. Stir in the kale, bring to a simmer, cover and place in the oven. Bake three hours until the beans are tender and creamy. (Made sure that the beans stay at a very slow simmer while in the oven. If they are not when you check, turn up the heat.) Taste and adjust salt.
• Mix together the remaining olive oil and the bread crumbs. Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the beans, and continue to bake another 30 minutes to an hour until the bread crumbs are lightly browned. Remove from the heat and serve; or allow to cool slightly and serve.

BRUSCHETTA WITH SMASHED BEANS, SAGE AND KALE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt generously and add kale. Blanch until tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl of cold water, then drain and squeeze out excess water. Chop medium-fine or cut in thin strips.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat in a heavy skillet and add minced garlic. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds, and add thyme and chopped kale. Cook, stirring, until kale is nicely seasoned with garlic and oil, about 1 minute. Season to taste with salt and pepper and transfer to a bowl. Keep warm.
• Heat remaining oil over medium-high heat in the same skillet and add beans and broth. Stir and mash the beans with the back of a wooden spoon until the mixture is slightly thick but not dry. Be careful not to overcook as the beans can dry out quickly. 10 minutes should suffice. Add pepper to taste, stir in sage and remove from the heat.
• Lightly toast bread and as soon as you remove it from the toaster rub each slice with the cut clove of garlic and slather on a generous spoonful of beans. Top beans with kale, drizzle on more olive oil if desired, sprinkle with Parmesan and serve, or heat through for a couple of minutes in a medium oven and serve.