Quick Braised Cannellini Beans and Kale

The first step in any braise is to saute the food in some fat at a relative high heat then add liquid to finish. In this recipe we saute the spices, cannellini beans and kale then add veg stock. The end result is a luxurious plate of creamy garlicky delicious beans. All you need is a piece, or two, of crusty bread… the absolute perfect vehicle for shoving these beans into your mouth.

These quick braised cannellini beans and kale only need a handful of ingredients to make. Most of them, you probably already have in your pantry. Namely garlic, extra virgin olive oil and veg stock or broth. The one ingredient you may not have is Trader Joe’s Sofritto seasoning blend. Its a flavorful blend of minced onion and garlic, tomato flakes, crushed chili peppers, crushed red pepper, parsley, sage and salt. I highly recommend it but you can sub in more minced garlic and 1/8-1/4 tsp of crushed red pepper. Add as little or a lot of the crushed red pepper, it all depends on how much spice you like.

Once you’ve made this dish a few times, start experimenting with the ingredients. Saute some bacon and sausage and use that fat to cook the beans and kale in. Chorizo would be amazing in this as well, use jalapeño instead of the sofritto 😉 Want to keep it vegetarian, no problem… saute some mushrooms instead to add another layer of flavor. You can also swap out the white beans for black or any bean you fancy. The greens are interchangeable too. The possibilities are endless!

Just in case you have more kale laying around and you’re not too sure on how to use it. Click here for my fave spaghetti with kale recipe.. now lets go make some beans!