Ingredients
- .25 cup olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
-
1 Tbsp Porcini Paradiso
- 6 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade and no salt
- 1 lb dry white beans
- Sprig of thyme
- 8 - 10 ounces parmesan, rinds cut off and reserved
- 1 bunch of kale, stem removed and sliced into thick strips
- 6 oz guanciale or bacon, cut into cubes
- Breadcrumbs, store bought or toast and roughly ground stale bread
- Preserved lemon, finely chopped as a garnish or simply zest and juice 1 lemon
Pesto
- .5 cup pine nuts
- 3 oz . Parmesan from above, grated (about ¾ cup)
- 2 garlic cloves, finely grated
- 6 cups basil leaves (about 3 bunches)
- .75 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Pinch of pink peruvian salt
Directions
- In a heavy bottom pot or dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat.
- Add onions and cook for 5-7 minutes or until softened and translucent before adding garlic.
- Add Porcini Paradiso and cook for one minute, just until fragrant.
- Add chicken stock, beans, parmesan rinds and a sprig of thyme.
- Simmer for 1-2 hours depending on bean. Turn off the heat when they are tender but before they are mushy.
- While the beans are simmering make your pesto, you can chop the herbs by hand and crush pine nuts in a mortar and pestle or pulse everything in food processor until desired consistency.
- Crisp your guanciale in a hot pan and save the fat.
- When the beans are done, pour the guanciale fat into the beans and season lightly.
- Add kale and the residual heat will cook the kale in a matter of minutes.
- Ladle the beans into a bowl and sprinkle with pieces of guanciale, dollops of pesto, a little preserved lemon, bread crumbs and a shower of parmesan.
Recipe Note
- I strongly recommend using homemade chicken stock because there are a lot of salty components in this dish and salted chicken stock can really take it too far.
- Pesto is a perfect sauce to really experiment with the quantities to get the right flavor and texture for you. I make pesto differently each time I make it. Depending on my mood and the quality of ingredients I have on hand.
