Spring Vegetables and White Beans Scented with Fresh Bay

Printer-friendly version

We keep hoping that the next dish that we try from Lynne Rossetto Kasper’s Weeknight Table newsletter will be better than the last. It seems as if we are crossing our fingers and hoping for a dish to wow us. Unfortunately it was not the case with this spring inspired vegetable dish. Although this dish was very quick and was entirely doable for a weeknight meal, neither of us found the dish very appetizing. We appreciate the concept of fresh spring flavors, but this particular dish will not find a place in our recipe binder.

Servings: 4
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 mintues

Ingredients

• 2 cups Cheater's Homemade Vegetable Broth (recipe follows) or canned vegetable broth
• 4 medium carrots, sliced into thick 3-inch-long matchsticks
• 8 garlic cloves, thin sliced
• 2 fresh bay leaves, bruised
• One 15-ounce can cannellini or other white beans, rinsed and drained
• 3 cups fresh baby spinach, washed
• Salt and fresh-ground black pepper
• 1 lemon, halved
• 1 to 2 tablespoons good-tasting extra-virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup fresh-grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Directions

1. In a 6-quart pot with a tight-fitting cover, combine the broth, carrots, garlic, and bay leaves. Bring to a simmer, cover, reduce the heat, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the carrots are tender.

2. Add the beans, spinach, and salt and pepper, and stir to wilt the spinach into the stew. Cover and cook for 5 minutes, or until the spinach is wilted and the beans are heated through.

3. Squeeze the juice of the lemon into the pot, remove the bay leaves, and serve the stew with drizzles of olive oil and sprinklings of grated Parmigiano.

Cheater's Homemade Broth

Makes about 4 cups; doubles and triples easily

5 minutes prep time; 30 minutes stove time

The broth keeps for 4 days refrigerated and 6 months frozen

• ½ cup dry white wine
• 2 large garlic cloves, crushed (leave unpeeled if organic)
• 2 whole cloves
• 1 canned tomato
• 1 bay leaf, broken
• ½ teaspoon dried basil, crumbled
• 3 -14-ounce cans vegetable broth
• 1 medium to large onion, coarse chopped (if organic, trim away root but leave skin)
• ½ large celery stalk with leaves, coarse chopped
• ½ medium carrot, coarse chopped (leave unpeeled if organic)

1. In a 4-quart pot, combine all the ingredients. Bring to a simmer, partially cover, and cook for 30 minutes.

2. Strain the broth into a bowl or a storage container. Use it right away, refrigerate it, or freeze it.