Cannellini Beans & Wilted Greens

Serves 6 to 8

2 cups dried cannellini beans
Bouquet garni: celery, thyme, parsley, bay leaf
1 onion
1 carrot
6 cups water or chicken stock
Salt and pepper
1 large bunch turnip greens, mustard greens, chard or kale
6 cloves garlic
5 to 6 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
Extra virgin olive oil

Soak the beans overnight. The next day drain them and put them into a heavy-bottomed pot with the bouquet garni. Add the onion and carrot, peeled. Cover with water or stock and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, skimming off any foam that forms on the surface. Cook the beans until very tender, from 45 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the age of the beans and how long they were soaked. Salt the beans generously once they start to soften. When fully cooked, remove from the heat.

While the beans are cooking, trim and chop the greens.

Finely chop the garlic cloves and gently sauté them in the olive oil with the rosemary, about 1 minute. Add the beans and about 1 cup of their cooking liquid, and simmer about 5 minutes, until some of the beans have crumbled apart. Add the greens to the beans, and stew together, uncovered, until the greens are wilted and tender. Add more of the bean liquid, if needed, to keep the vegetables moist and a little soupy. Taste for seasoning and grind in some pepper. Serve with extra-virgin olive oil drizzled over the surface.

This makes an excellent side dish with roasted or grilled poultry.
It is also a fine sauce for a sturdy pasta, like penne. When the beans are tender, roughly mash about half of them, to thicken the sauce, and then stir in the cooked pasta. Add a little more bean liquid if the mixture is too thick.

From Chez Panisse Vegetables by Alice Waters