NCR recipes for Lent: Kale with cannellini beans

Many years ago, a friend gave me the cookbook Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison. My copy shows its long use, with notes and food stains and crinkled pages — a sign of a cookbook well worth recommending. And the place where the binding is cracked and pages have come loose makes it easy to find my favorite, most-made recipe in there.

When kale is available at the farmers market, this meal is my go-to. It makes a good main dish for dinner, but I've also made it as a side dish for holiday meals, where it's gotten good reviews.

My variations from the original are mainly in proportions of ingredients. I like to up the ratio of beans, and when it comes to garlic and rosemary, more is always better! 

Kale with cannellini beans 
(adapted from Deborah Madison)

Servings — about 4

Ingredients

• 1 large bunch of kale, or 2 smaller bunches, stems and ribs removed
• Salt and ground pepper
• 1 onion, diced
• 2-3 T olive oil
• At least 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1-3 pinches red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 cup dry white wine or dry vermouth
• 2 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• Red wine vinegar

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the kale. Simmer 7-10 minutes, then remove the kale to a bowl. Reserve some of the cooking water (no need to thoroughly drain the kale). Roughly chop the leaves.
2. In a large skillet, sauté the onion, garlic, pepper flakes and rosemary in the olive oil for about 3 minutes. Add the wine and cook until it's reduced to a syrupy sauce.
3. Mix in the beans and kale. Heat through, adding a little reserved cooking water as needed to keep the mixture loose. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Serve with a splash of red wine vinegar.