Italian Bean Stew Recipes

Steps:

• Soak beans in cold water, 8 hours to overnight.
• Drain beans and set aside.
• Make a cut down the center of each sausage and peel off the casing. Transfer sausage into a dry soup pot over medium-high heat. Brown sausage, while breaking it up into small pieces with a wooden spoon, 5 to 7 minutes. Cook and stir until juices start to caramelize and stick to the bottom of the pan, creating a fond, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Add onion and stir to coat in the rendered sausage fat. Cook until onion starts to turn translucent, about 5 minutes. Add white wine to deglaze the pot. Add black pepper, red pepper flakes, bay leaf, and water.
• Add drained beans, increase heat to high, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes. Add salt and continue to simmer until beans are tender, about 30 more minutes. Taste beans to be certain they are perfectly cooked.
• Smash about 1/4 of the beans with a potato masher to give the stew a creamy texture if desired. Stir in chopped kale, increase heat to medium, and cook until tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Taste and adjust salt.
• Ladle hot soup into bowls, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and a pinch of red pepper flakes.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, skin side down, and cook, until browned on both sides, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
• Reduce the heat to medium, add the onion, garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until the onions are soft, about 7 minutes. Add the tomato paste and stir until it coats the onions and is a shade darker, about 1 minute. Pour in the wine and scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the skillet. Add the broth, beans, tomatoes and oregano and bring to a boil. Nestle the chicken in the skillet along with any juices from the plate. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until the chicken is cooked through, about 25 minutes.
• Transfer the chicken thighs to a platter. Stir the cheese into the bean mixture and season with salt and pepper and garnish with fresh oregano if using. Serve with the chicken and extra parmesan cheese for topping.

Steps:

• In 3-quart saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add bell peppers, onion, zucchini and pepper flakes; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender. Add tomatoes and broth. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover; simmer 20 minutes.
• Using fork, break up larger pieces of tomato. Stir in pasta. Cover; cook 12 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Stir in beans, spinach, basil, vinegar and salt. Cover; let stand 2 minutes. Sprinkle individual servings with Asiago cheese.

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, cook meat in 1 tablespoon butter until browned; drain and set meat aside. In same saucepan, saute the celery, onion and garlic with remaining butter until tender. Stir in the tomatoes, 3/4 cup water, salt, oregano, pepper and reserved meat. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1 hour., Stir in beans and parsley. Return to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for about 30 minutes longer or until meat and beans are tender. Combine cornstarch and remaining water until smooth. Gradually stir into stew. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened.