UTICA GREENS AND BEANS

Utica Greens and Beans image

Why greens and beans on New Year's Day, you may ask? Because, as any scientist will tell you, if you eat 'poor' on the first day of the year, you will enjoy incredible financial prosperity the rest of the year! The original Utica greens do not have beans but they are such a classic combination.

Provided by Chef John

Categories Side Dish Vegetables Greens

Time 35m

Yield 6

Number Of Ingredients 13

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Ingredients

2 heads escarole, bottoms trimmed and leaves coarsely sliced
4 ounces pancetta bacon, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped jalapeno pepper, or to taste
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chicken broth
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 (12 ounce) can cooked cranberry beans
½ cup fine bread crumbs
1 pinch red pepper flakes, or to taste
2 tablespoons fine bread crumbs
½ cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil, or as needed

Steps:

Wash escarole leaves in a large bowl in several changes of cold water until no grit remains.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; cook escarole in the boiling water until bright green and slightly wilted, about 2 minutes. Transfer escarole to a large bowl using a slotted spoon. Rinse greens in cold water to stop the cooking process. Drain thoroughly.
Place pancetta and olive oil into a large oven-safe skillet over medium heat; cook until browned and crisp in spots, about 5 minutes. Stir jalapeno peppers into pancetta; cook and stir until peppers start to soften, about 2 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute more.
Pour chicken broth over pancetta mixture, bring to a simmer, and season with salt and black pepper to taste. Gently stir beans into skillet. Mix escarole into mixture, turn off heat, and top with 1/2 cup bread crumbs. Stir until crumbs are still visible but most are incorporated. Season with red pepper flakes. Top with 2 tablespoons bread crumbs followed by Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese; drizzle top with 1 tablespoon olive oil.
Set oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source and preheat the oven's broiler.
Place skillet under broiler and cook until top is golden brown, 2 to 4 minutes. Serve immediately.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 306.6 calories, Carbohydrate 25.2 g, Cholesterol 18.6 mg, Fat 18.3 g, Fiber 11.2 g, Protein 12.3 g, SaturatedFat 5.2 g, Sodium 575.9 mg, Sugar 1.4 g