Gustatelo!

Emma was my father’s mother. She was born in Boston in 1915. She was a sassy Italian-American tailor who cooked the most amazing Italian meals for her family, which included husband, son, uncles, brothers, sisters, cousins and usually more. As you might expect, she had the Italian maternal tendency to cook three times the amount of food that was probably necessary, pile the food high on your plate and dole out seconds and thirds without you asking.  Unfortunately for me, I only got to enjoy these meals for the first 4 years of my life. She died of lung cancer in 1990, but even in that short time, she left so much with me. One of my favorites of her recipes, and the one I would ask for as a toddler when she came to visit, was her Scarola e Fagioli, beans and escarole. Of course at 3 years old I just called them Greens. Now I make this recipe on an almost weekly basis in the wintertime. I even sometimes make a big batch at the beginning of the week and eat it all week long. It’s seriously delicious, and kids LOVE it. Imagine a recipe that makes any kind of bitter greens not just edible, but enjoyable for young kids, genius!

Ingredients:

Approx. 1 lb Winter Greens

1 small can cannellini beans

Garlic, at least two cloves

Onions, diced

Olive oil

1-1 ½ cups grated parmigiano

I use any winter greens I can get my hands on that are fresh and local: escarole, kale, swiss chard, beet greens, spinach, almost any leafy green will work and the greener the better.  I wash the leaves by filling a large bowl with cool water and floating and dunking the leaves in the water. Dry them as much as you can, they can still be a little damp. Roughly chop the dried greens. Open a can of cannellini beans (I have also used kidney and garbanzo beans), drain and rinse them under water. Mince and crush the cloves of garlic. Use your discretion in terms of amount here, but I would suggest at lease 2 cloves. For me, I sometimes use as many as 6 cloves, but I am a garlic fanatic. (I mean, I am Italian) Then dice up and onion or two (again your discretion on the amount). Get a large sauté pan or wok hot, add some olive oil (2-4 Tbs). When the olive oil is hot, add the garlic and onions and sauté over medium high heat until soft, a few minutes.

Add the chopped greens and turn them over and over mixing while they cook and reduce in the pan. When the leaves are reduced I add the beans to the pan and stir to mix them in and heat them up. When the beans are mixed I sprinkle about ⅔cup of grated parmigiano over the greens.

Stir some more, and remove the pan from the heat. Transfer the greens to a serving dish and add another ⅓– ½ cup of grated parmigiano on top. Serve immediately.   Gustatelo!