Back in 2014, as a young whippersnapper just finding my footing as a home cook, I threw a little dinner party in my old Upper East Side apartment. A subscriber of Bon Appetit (since lapsed), I’d just read the October 2014 issue (the “party issue”, I believe) and chose several dishes among those pages to serve my guests. One such dish was a pork shoulder served with vinaigrette, and another was this amazing side of roasted broccoli and giant corona beans. I loved both, and re-made the pork shoulder last November. I have been thinking about the broccoli and beans for approximately the past 3 years.
Last weekend, the time came for a walk down memory lane. A real stickler for not wasting food, I decided to use up the beans from the ORIGINAL recipe, so they were quite old. A cursory Google search told me they’d probably be fine, but might be a little dry, and I found that to be true (they never got quite as creamy as they might have been). But my old beans got the job done.
Let me first discuss the preparation of said beans. You soak them overnight, like you do with most dried beans. Then you stick them in a pot with water to cover, and add three magic ingredients that will make your house smell incredible and your beans taste delicious: an entire onion, quartered, an entire head of garlic (!!!!!!), cut crosswise and the real secret, a Parmesan rind. While you’re doing this, and your house starts smelling like a solution you’d like to take a swim in, you roast some tiny broccoli florets until they are nice and crispy and perfecting for picking off the tray (maybe make extra?).
Which brings me to the second magic ingredient- 4 inoffensive anchovy fillets, which you chop very, very finely and incorporate into your bean and broccoli mixture along with lemon zest, juice and olive oil. You will not even know they are there, but they will add a savory element that you wouldn’t get with just salt. They will also make any cats you may live with very crazy.
That’s it. That’s the recipe. So simple, and yet profoundly delicious. Good as a side dish, a lunch atop a pile of arugula (my favorite composition for any lunch), a midday snack straight from the fridge! Get as creative as your mind will allow.
You can cook the beans 5 days ahead; cover and chill in cooking liquid. Warm before serving. Broccoli can be roasted 6 hours ahead; store tightly wrapped at room temperature.
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried large white beans (such as gigante or corona), soaked overnight
- 3 oz. Parmesan with rind
- 1 onion, quartered
- 1 head garlic, halved crosswise
- Kosher salt
- 1 1/2 lb. broccoli (about 3 small heads), coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup olive oil, divided
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 4 anchovy fillets packed in oil, drained, finely chopped
- 2 wide strips lemon zest, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Drain beans and place in a large heavy pot. Remove rind from Parmesan and add rind along with onion and garlic to beans. Pour in water to cover by 2”; season with salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, adding water as needed to keep beans submerged, until beans are tender, about 2 hours. Let cool. Discard vegetables and Parmesan rind, then drain.
- Preheat oven to 450°. Toss broccoli with ¼ cup oil on a rimmed baking sheet; season with salt and pepper. Roast, tossing occasionally, until tender and lightly charred, 15–20 minutes. Let cool.
- Finely chop half of broccoli and toss in a large bowl with anchovies, lemon zest, lemon juice, and beans. Shave half of Parmesan over and add remaining broccoli and ¼ cup oil; toss and season with salt, pepper, and more lemon juice, if desired. Shave remaining Parmesan over.
Notes
https://www.thekitchenchronicles.com/2018/02/14/white-beans-and-charred-broccoli-with-parmesan/
