Hot Digggidy Dinner

My expertise in meal planning became very apparent yesterday, as I had planned to make a veggie-loaded Ministrone Soup and Margherita Flatbread on the hottest, most humid day of the year.  As A pointed out, just what you want on the hottest, humidest day--the oven cranked up as high as it will go with a pizza stone in it while a huge pot of boiling liquid simmers away on the stove.

Reluctantly, I agreed it was best to change plans.  But what to do with the three large bunches of greens in the fridge?  For a while I've been wanting to try a version of the Italian classic side dish of escarole & white beans.  Since substitution and messing around doesn't really phase me at all (a trait I get from my kitchen wizard father, whose concoctions range from amazingly delicious to downright strange...) I figured I could make some substantial concoction wiht kale, chard and pinto beans (i was out of cannellis).

I softened some onion and garlic in a large pot, then added leftover sweet italian chicken sausage to brown.  Deglazed the pan with white wine, then stirred in about 6 cups (or more) of roughly chopped greens and maybe 3/4 cup chicken stock to braise. 

Verdict?  Delicious!  Greens are oh-so-healthy, but can be very bitter, tough and too earthy for to enjoy.  The braising makes them really tender, and the simple flavors extruded from the meat gives them a richness that tempers the earthiness. I honestly wasn't expecting to like this that much--I expected it to be a more dutiful way to eat a healthy vegetable and lean protein (beans).  But we both really enjoyed it!  We used it as a side for pita sandwiches, but I bet this could be a main course pretty easily, or served over rice/noodles as well.   Recipe after the jump.


Greens N Beans
Feel free to sub out different greens (beet greens, collards, spinach, etc) and meat--I bet pancetta would be great with its extreme saltiness, or larger slices of sausage instead of dice would make the dish more hearty as a main.  You probably could brown some chicken first, then proceed with the recipe and add the chicken pieces back in with the greens to braise--a one-pot meal! Also, I was a little wasteful and didn't use the greens' stems (just plain forgot), but they could easily be added in with the onions/garlic to give them extra time to soften up.

1/2 large white or yellow onion, chopped
4 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/2 cup diced cooked italian sausage
6 cups kale/chard leaves, roughly chopped
1/3 cup white wine
3/4-1 cup chicken stock
1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
olive oil
salt & pepper

Heat olive oil in a large covered dutch oven/pot.  When hot, but not smoking, add onion and garlic; season and cook until softened, 3-5 min.  Add sausage to the pot and cook until browned.  Deglaze the pan with white wine, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. 

Let wine reduce a bit (maybe by half), then add greens and stock; season with salt & pepper.  Cover pot and braise greens until tender, about 15 minutes.  Stir in beans and heat through, then serve.