Braised Beans Recipes

CREAMY BRAISED WHITE BEANS

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, cut side down, and cook until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Add the milk, chickpeas and their liquid, white beans, thyme and nutmeg and stir to combine. Season generously with salt and pepper. When the mixture begins to bubble around the edges of the pan (you don't want it to come to a full boil), reduce the heat to low and let it simmer, stirring occasionally, until it has thickened and tastes great to you, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
• Use a fork to remove the garlic halves from the beans. Set aside until cool enough to handle, then use the fork to remove the cloves from the skins. Spread the cloves on bread or toast.
• If you would like the beans to be more stew-like, mash some of the beans using a potato masher or the back of a spoon. Serve beans and milk in bowls. Garnish as you wish, with a drizzle of oil, a sprinkle of Parmesan and a pinch of Aleppo pepper and black pepper. Serve with the bread alongside for dipping.

JULES' BRAISED BEANS

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook and stir bacon in hot oil until browned, 7 to 10 minutes. Add onion; cook and stir until the onion is tender, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Stir vinegar, sugar, and garlic into the bacon and onion mixture; season with salt and pepper. Pour chicken stock over the mixture and stir; bring to a simmer and cook until hot, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the green beans and toss to coat. Cover the pot and let the green beans simmer until tender, about 10 minutes more.

BRAISED GREEN BEANS

Steps:

• In a large skillet, bring chicken broth and garlic to a simmer over medium-high. Add green beans and thyme; cover and cook until tender, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, drizzle with olive oil, and serve with lemon slices.

FAGIOLINI IN UMIDO: BRAISED BEANS

Steps:

• Heat up the olive oil in a saucepan. Add the onion and chile peppers, if using, and stir. Cook until the onions are translucent and soft. Then add the tomatoes and salt, to taste. With the back of a wooden spoon, break up the tomatoes into little chunks. Add the string beans to the pan, cover with lid and let simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Serve the dish hot or at room temperature.

CHORIZO-STUFFED PORK LOIN WITH BRAISED BEANS

Steps:

• Pound the fennel with 1 tbsp sea salt in a pestle and mortar to a fine dust. To butterfly the pork, lay on a chopping board skin-side down. Using a sharp knife, cut between the fatty layer just beneath the skin and the loin, rolling the meat to the side but leaving the meat and fat/skin connected at one end. Where you have a hinge, cut another line into the side of the thickest part of the meat, halfway down. Keep cutting in that direction to the other end of the loin, but not all the way through. Open the meat out. Rub in the fennel and salt, then set aside while you make the stuffing. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
• Heat 1 tbsp oil in a frying pan, add the finely chopped onion and cook over a low-medium heat until softened, about 8 mins. Stir through the garlic, cook for another minute, tip into a bowl, then leave to cool.
• Tip the bread into a roasting tin. Bake for 10 mins, or until crisp and golden, then leave to cool. Turn the oven up to 240C/220C fan/gas 9.
• Crush any large chunks of bread to crumbs in your hands and add to the bowl of garlic and onion, along with the lemon zest. Pick the leaves from half the thyme sprigs and add these too, followed by the sausagemeat, squeezing it out from the skins. Scrunch everything together well using your hands.
• Pat the pork meat and skin dry with kitchen paper. Spread the stuffing evenly over the opened fleshy part of the pork, then roll the meat around the stuffing. Lay four-five pieces of string on a board, place the rolled-up meat on top, wrap the skin around the meat, then securely tie the string around the whole loin to make a neat cylinder. Rub the remaining oil over the exposed meat and salt into the skin.
• Put the loin in a large roasting tin and roast for 20 mins. Lower the heat to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and continue cooking for 1 hr.
• Remove the tin from the oven. If there is a lot of fat in the tin, carefully pour some away so you're left with a thin coating on the base of the tin. Tip the onion wedges, peppers and remaining thyme sprigs around the pork, then add the sherry, stock cube and paprika. Season and mix everything together, then return to the oven for 30 mins.
• Stir the beans into the veg in the roasting tin and squeeze over some lemon juice. If the beans look dry, add a splash of water. Return to the oven for another 10 mins.
• Remove the tin from the oven. Lift the pork onto a baking tray and cover the beans to keep them warm. Turn the oven up to 240C/220C fan/gas 9 and roast the pork for a final 10-15 mins to help the skin crackle. If you don't see bubbles popping on the surface, try grilling it for a few minutes, but keep a close eye on the crackling as it will burn easily. If you have a meat thermometer, the temperature should read 75C. Remove from the oven, cover loosely with foil and leave to rest for 10-15 mins.
• Reheat the beans gently on the hob, then transfer to a large platter. Scatter with parsley. Slice the pork thickly and lay on top of the beans with shards of crackling.

BRAISED GREEN BEANS WITH TOMATOES

Steps:

• In a large straight-sided skillet or a wide, shallow pot, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add beans, tomatoes, broth, and oregano, stirring to combine; season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until beans are very tender, 18 to 20 minutes. Stir in remaining 3 tablespoons oil and season with salt and pepper; serve.

BRAISED WHITE BEANS AND GREENS WITH PARMESAN

Steps:

• In a 12-inch skillet or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium. Add the fennel, onion and rosemary, and cook for 4 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender. Add the garlic and red-pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Begin adding handfuls of the greens, cooking and stirring until leaves wilt.
• Add the white beans, broth and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat to low and simmer, mashing some of the beans with a wooden spoon, until the liquid has reduced and thickened, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Off the heat, stir in the lemon juice, then the mozzarella, if using, and Pecorino Romano. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Divide among shallow bowls and top with more Pecorino Romano. Serve with toasted bread and a dish of red-pepper flakes on the side.

BRAISED WHITE BEANS

Steps:

• Rinse the beans and put in a large pan with 1 onion, 1 carrot and 1 celery stick, all halved, 1 unpeeled garlic clove and the bouquet garni. Cover with water, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 30-45 mins, until the beans are almost tender but holding their shape.
• Meanwhile, chop the remaining onion, carrots and celery stick. Peel and finely chop the remaining garlic. Heat the butter and oil in a large pan, add the vegetables and gently fry for 10 mins until lightly coloured.
• Drain the beans, reserving the cooking liquid. Fish out and discard the whole vegetables and bouquet garni. Add the beans to the pan of vegetables with the tomatoes and sufficient reserved cooking liquid to just cover them. Top up with boiling water if necessary. Add plenty of salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for about 30 mins until the beans and vegetables are tender, then scatter with parsley, to serve.

BRAISED KALE AND BEANS

Steps:

• Cut tough stems off kale and discard. Stack leaves, roll tightly and cut crosswise into 3/4-inch strips. Transfer to a large bowl and cover with cold water; swirl to remove grit. Drain in a colander. Clean a second time if water in the bowl looks visibly dirty.
• Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until golden brown around the edges, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and sage; cook and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Stir in vegetable both, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the saucepan. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer, about 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium and add the kale. Season with salt and pepper and stir until just wilted, about 2 minutes. Cover and cook until tender but not soft, about 3 minutes.
• Uncover saucepan; stir in beans and hot sauce. Stir until beans are heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.