Today, we're making a miness.
So, for the beans.
Now, look, not everybody's gonna do this.
I'm just saying, if you have the time.
I take a cup and a half
of good quality, dried Italian beans.
I soak them overnight,
cover them with three inches of water,
add an onion and a couple of bay leaves.
And when it boils, add salt.
Soak the beans first and then rinse them,
so they don't put off too much foam
and starch into the water.
And you cook them until they're not 100%,
they're 3/4 of the way there.
Or the really quick method
to make this meal in simply minutes, two cans of cannellini.
So, we're going to start, if you're using it,
with olive oil, EVOO, to coat the bottom
of our Dutch oven or stew pot.
And you're going to render the flavor
in some of the natural fat, of course,
from that bit of pancetta or guanciale.
(pot sizzling)
Again, this is still a very flavorful dish
if you are a vegetarian.
So, once we render the pork, if you're using it,
you add the fennel and onion.
(pot sizzling)
Now, especially if you're not using the pork product here,
you wanna make sure to season this liberally with salt
because salt will draw the liquid
out of the onions and fennel.
So, I melted a little butter
with some crushed garlic and a little olive oil.
I'm just gonna pour that over the top
and make like the equivalent of little,
teeny-tiny garlic bread bits to toss on top of the soup.
This is not an every time we eat miness.
This is just a once in a while.
So, we make, basically, baby garlic breads.
Throw 'em in the oven, 375, 400,
who cares, 'til they're toasty.
We're now going to grate in our garlic.
(grater scraping)
Wilt in our greens.
We're going to season it with a little bit of nutmeg.
(grater scraping)
And we're going to add lemon zest,
not the juice until the end.
Little lemon zest.
(grater scraping)
And we're going to add a little bit of crushed red pepper.
Boop.
And then, get your stock in there.
(stock splashing)
Whoo.
(stock splashing)
And now, we're going to cook
the greens until they're tender crisp.
I don't like them completely lack of color and flavor.
(greens mushing)
(wooden spoon tapping)
And now, it's time for the beans to join them.
(beans rustling)
This is about the equivalent of two cans,
if you bought it in a grocery store.
I always buy Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
with a piece of rind.
I bought a small piece on this day,
I bought a big piece on this day.
And guess what this does?
It makes all of the soup and broth
taste like Parmigiano-Reggiano.
You leave the rind in there while this cooks together.
When you are happy, turn the soup off,
and add the juice of the lemon you zested.
We ladle this thick combination
of beans and greens into a bowl.
And then we take a little bit of Parmigiano,
a little cheese, okay?
And a little bit of raw, minced white onion.
A little bit, not a lot.
And a good drizzle of green, fancy EVOO.
We have some crouton to stir in as we eat.
And there you go.
(gently chiming bells)