Dinner, Sides
Heat the oil in a large sauté pan until just hot. Add the pancetta and fry for 1-2 minutes. Add the onion, celery, garlic and sage leaves. Stir fry for 4-5 minutes until the onion is golden brown.
Add the cannellini beans and stir briefly before adding the water. Season well with salt & pepper.
Bring the water to a boil and then reduce the heat to low so that the beans are barely simmering. Partially cover and cook for 1 1/2 hours, or until the beans are soft. Fish out the sage stems and discard. Reduce the water and cooking time if using canned beans.
Take each stem of cavolo nero and strip off the leaves. Discard the stems. Roughly chop the leaves and add them to the beans. Cook for 5-10 minutes until wilted and cooked through.
Remove from the heat and stir in the pecorino cheese. Check for seasoning then serve.
Serve with a generous drizzle of best quality extra-virgin olive oil and crusty bread.
Optionally server over a small bed of Ditalini.
Tuscan Beans with Pancetta & Cavolo Nero
Tuscan Beans with pancetta and cavolo nero cabbage (Tuscan Kale) is one of my all time favorite dishes. The beans are traditionally white cannellini, but Great Northern work as well, just a little less creamy. Tuscan Kale is a must have, while the pancetta can be replaced with guanciale for an even richer taste, leftover diced ham or bacon. Or skip the protein altogether.
Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 110 mins