Herbed Beans
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
- ½ lb small dried beans (cannellini, navy, kidney, etc), cleaned of dirt & stones & rinsed
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 oz pancetta, diced
- 1 cup onions, diced
- ½ cup celery, peeled & diced
- 1 cup fennel, trimmed of tough outer leaves & diced
- 2 tbsp garlic, minced
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 cup chopped canned tomatoes (no salt added)
- 3 cups fat-free, low sodium chicken stock, vegetable stock or water
- ½ cup mixed soft herbs (basil, parsley, chives, mint & any other herbs you may have on hand), chopped
- squeeze of fresh lemon juice (optional)
How-to
- Cover the beans with water, and soak for 8 hours, or overnight. Drain
- Heat the olive oil with the pancetta in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Cook pancetta for 4 minutes
- Add the onion, celery and fennel, season with salt and pepper and cook another 5 minutes or until tender
- Add the garlic and cook 1 minute
- Add bay leaves, tomatoes, beans and chicken stock to cover by about 1". Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer 45-60 minutes or until the beans are tender. If the beans are done but seem too soupy, increase the heat and boil to reduce the juices
- Check seasonings and add salt and pepper if necessary and remove from the heat. Remove bay leaves
- Stir in the lemon juice and the herbs