Tag Archives: Tuscan

Tuscan-Style Shrimp with White Beans

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In the cuisine of Tuscany, Italy, with its miles of coastline and reputation as the home of mangiafagioli—or bean eaters—it’s no surprise that shrimp and white beans are a classic pairing. And they do a fine job of co-starring in this dish.

In this quick, easy recipe from Milk Street, the two are the highlights. With so few supporting ingredients, it’s important to use a dry white wine that’s good enough to drink on its own. And why not pour yourself a glass with the meal?!

While the original recipe indicates it takes a total time of 25 minutes from start to finish, it was more like 40-45 minutes with prep. Serve warm or at room temperature with a leafy salad and crusty bread to round out the meal.

Tuscan-Style Shrimp with White Beans

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, plus more to serve
  • 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
  • 1 sprig fresh rosemary OR ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
  • 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
  • Kosher salt and ground black pepper
  • 2 15½-oz. cans butter beans OR cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
  • 3/4 cup dry white wine
  • 1 lb. extra-large (21/25 per pound) shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 1 cup lightly packed fresh flat-leaf parsley OR fresh basil, roughly chopped

Directions

  1. In a 12-inch skillet over medium-high, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the onion, rosemary, pepper flakes and ½ teaspoon salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, 4 to 6 minutes. Stir in the beans, then add the wine and cook, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until the pan is dry, 5 to 7 minutes.
  2. 02Stir in the shrimp. Cover, reduce to medium-low and cook until the shrimp are opaque throughout, 4 to 5 minutes; stir once about halfway through.
  3. 03Off heat, taste and season with salt and black pepper. Remove and discard the rosemary sprig (if used). Stir in the parsley and serve drizzled with additional oil.

http://www.lynnandruss.com

Recipe by Coutney Hill for Milk Street

Hearty Tuscan Bean Stew with Sausage and Cabbage

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In Tuscany, creamy, flavorful beans transform rustic soups and stews into something special, perfect for hunkering down on a cool weather afternoon/evening. But you want to avoid tough, exploded beans in this Tuscan bean stew recipe. Therefore, soak the beans overnight in salted water, which softens the skins.

Gently cooking the beans in a 250-degree oven produces perfectly cooked beans that stay intact. To complete the bean stew recipe, add tomatoes toward the end of cooking, since their acid keeps the beans from becoming too soft.

Please note: The creamier texture of beans soaked overnight are preferred for this recipe. If you’re short on time, quick-soak them: Place the rinsed beans in a large heat-resistant bowl. Bring 2 quarts of water and 3 tablespoons of salt to a boil. Pour the water over the beans and let them sit for 1 hour. Drain and rinse the beans well before proceeding with step 2. For a more substantial dish, serve the stew over toasted bread. This variation has much more meat than the Hearty Tuscan Bean Stew and is made with crinkly Savoy cabbage.

Hearty Tuscan Bean Stew with Sausage and Cabbage

  • Servings: 8
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • Table salt
  • 1 lb. dried cannellini beans (about 2 cups), rinsed and picked over
  • 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
  • 1 ½ lbs. sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
  • 1 large onion, chopped medium (about 1 1/2 cups)
  • 2 medium celery ribs, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 3/4 cup)
  • 2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 1 cup)
  • 8 medium garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
  • 4 cups chicken broth, preferably homemade
  • 3 cups water
  • 2 bay leaves
  • ½ medium head savoy cabbage, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 (14.5-oz.) can diced tomatoes drained and rinsed
  • 1 sprig fresh oregano leaves
  • Ground black pepper
  • 8 slices country white bread, each 1 1/4 inches thick, broiled until golden brown on both sides and rubbed with garlic clove, (optional)

Directions

  1. Dissolve 3 tablespoons salt in 4 quarts cold water in large bowl or container. Add beans and soak at room temperature for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours. Drain and rinse well.
  2. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 250 degrees. Heat oil and sausage in large Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook, breaking meat into small pieces with wooden spoon until it loses its raw color, about 8 minutes. Transfer sausage to paper towel-lined plate and place in refrigerator. Add onion, celery, and carrots. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened and lightly browned, 10 to 16 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in broth, water, bay leaves, and soaked beans. Increase heat to high and bring to simmer. Cover pot, transfer to oven, and cook until beans are almost tender (very center of beans will still be firm), 45 minutes to 1 hour.
  3. Remove pot from oven and stir in greens, sausage, and tomatoes. Cover pot, return pot to oven and continue to cook until beans and greens are fully tender, 30 to 40 minutes longer.
  4. Remove pot from oven and submerge oregano sprig in stew. Cover and let stand 15 minutes. Discard bay leaves and oregano sprig and season stew with salt and pepper to taste. If desired, use back of spoon to press some beans against side of pot to thicken stew. Serve over toasted bread, if desired, and drizzle with olive oil.

http://www.lynnandruss.com

Recipe from America’s Test Kitchen

Tuscan White Bean Soup

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Here’s a lovely, healthy soup from The Barefoot Contessa with lots of fiber and subtle flavors. This recipe originally calls for soaking dried beans overnight, but gives you an option to use canned beans.

We included a can of diced tomatoes for an additional pop of color and extra nutrition.

If you prefer to use canned beans: First, use 2 (14-ounce) cans of white cannellini beans.  Drain the beans, reserving the liquid.  Place 1 cup of the beans and ½ cup of the liquid into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and puree.  When ready to add the beans in the recipe, stir in the puree and add the remaining drained beans (discard the remaining liquid). Second, use only 6 cups of chicken stock. Third, simmer the soup for 45 minutes, rather than 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Tuscan White Bean Soup

  • Servings: 3 qts
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 1 lb. dried white cannellini beans (for canned beans, see note)
  • Good olive oil
  • 4 oz. pancetta, ¼-inch diced
  • 2 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts (2 leeks)
  • 2 cups chopped yellow onion (2 onions)
  • 2 cups (½-inch) diced carrots, scrubbed (5 carrots)
  • 2 cups (½-inch) diced celery (4 ribs)
  • 2 Tbsp. minced garlic (6 cloves)
  • 2 tsp. minced fresh rosemary
  • 8 to 10 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
  • 1 14.5 oz. can of diced tomatoes
  • 2 bay leaves
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

  1. At least 8 hours or the night before you make the soup, place the beans in a large bowl and add enough cold water to cover the beans by 2 inches.  Refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.  Drain the beans, rinse under cold running water, and drain again.  Set aside.
  2. In a large (10-inch) pot or Dutch oven such as Le Creuset, heat ¼ cup of olive oil over medium heat, add the pancetta, and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes, until browned. 
  3. Add the leeks, onions, carrots, celery, garlic, and rosemary and cook over medium-low for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender. 
  4. Add the beans, 8 cups of the chicken stock, bay leaves, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 1 hour and 30 minutes, until the beans are tender.  Stir occasionally, scraping the bottom of the pot.  Discard the bay leaves, cover the pot, and allow the soup to sit off the heat for 15 minutes.  Add in the diced tomatoes. Add up to 2 more cups of chicken stock if the soup is too thick.
  5. Reheat slowly, ladle into large shallow soup bowls, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, drizzle with olive oil, and serve hot.

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Adapted from a recipe by Ina Garten

Carabaccia (Tuscan Onion Soup)

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For this recipe, we were beta testers for America’s Test Kitchen (ATK). As part of the rules, we were unable to post anything until it was published in their magazine and online; which was six months after the fact.

In the same vein as French Onion Soup, the buttery, sweet savoriness of carabaccia, Tuscany’s centuries-old red onion soup, introduces you to an entirely different side of allium complexity.

As ATK explains, Carabaccia is a simple, centuries-old Tuscan onion soup made by softening (but not browning) and then simmering loads of onions in water until the liquid is gently savory-sweet; the soup is served with toasted bread, grated Parmesan or Pecorino, and perhaps a poached egg.

For this take, 2 pounds of thin-sliced red onions are softened by first simmering them covered, with a little water, salt, and olive oil, so that the moist heat would encourage them to quickly collapse. Then they are briefly cooked uncovered to evaporate the liquid and concentrate their flavor; finally they are simmered with water, sage, and bay leaf to infuse the broth with the onions’ sweet savor.

Stirring grated Parmesan into the soup enhances its flavor. While the soup simmers, you broil slices of crusty bread and poach the eggs. To serve, placed a slice of toast in each bowl and top with a poached egg; then ladle the soup around the bowl.

Carabaccia is traditionally made with water but feel free to use your favorite chicken or vegetable broth in Step 2. A rasp grater works well for grating the Parmesan. Serve this soup with a poached egg spooned on top of the toast before the soup is ladled into the bowl.

Carabaccia (Tuscan Onion Soup)

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 2 lbs. red onions, halved and sliced through root end ¼ inch thick
  • 5 cups water, divided; OR chicken or vegetable broth
  • 3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
  • ¾ tsp. table salt, divided
  • 2 sprigs fresh sage
  • 1 bay leaf
  • ½ cup (1 oz.) finely grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
  • 4 poached eggs
  • 4 (½-inch-thick) slices thick-crusted country bread

Directions

  1. Bring onions, 1 cup water, 2 tablespoons oil, and ½ teaspoon salt to boil in Dutch oven over high heat. Adjust heat to medium, cover, and cook at rapid simmer, stirring occasionally, until onions have fully softened and collapsed, 18 to 20 minutes. Uncover and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid evaporates (onions should not brown), 6 to 8 minutes. (Onions can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 1 month.)
  2. Add sage sprigs, bay leaf, remaining 4 cups water, and remaining ¼ teaspoon salt. Bring to boil, adjust heat to gentle simmer and cook, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove sage sprigs and bay leaf. Stir in Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  3. Meanwhile, adjust oven rack about 6 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Place bread on aluminum foil-lined rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with remaining 1 tablespoon oil and season with salt and pepper. Broil until browned, crisp, and starting to char at edges, 2 to 4 minutes. Flip bread and continue to broil until bottom is starting to char, 2 to 4 minutes longer.
  4. Place 1 slice bread in bottom of each individual bowl. Top bread with poached egg. Ladle soup into bowl. Serve, passing Parmesan separately.

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Recipe from Annie Petito for America’s Test Kitchen