White Beans and Spinach
Spinaci e Fagioli
Garlicky, creamy white cannellini beans cooked with leafy vegetables and cured pork, “beans and greens” is a simple Italian-American staple. In the years from 1880 to 1930, over 5 million Italians immigrated to the United States. Of these, 80% hailed from rural southern Italy, a region generally poorer than the industrializing north[1]. Beans and greens likely arrived in America with Italian immigrants from Campania, where escarole with beans (scarola e fagioli) is a popular preparation. The New World version of the dish trades escarole for the more widely available spinach.
Ingredients
1 can (8 oz) cannellini beans, drained
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups spinach
3 oz pancetta, diced
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
Olive oil
Begin by adding 1 teaspoon olive oil and the diced pancetta to a cold pan, and bring it to temperature over medium heat. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the fat has rendered and the meat has crisped up. Then add the minced garlic to the pan and fry for about 30 seconds.
When the garlic is fragrant, add the cooked and drained cannellini beans to the pan. You can use canned beans, or you can cook the beans from dry yourself before using them in this dish[2]. Toss the beans with the pancetta, coating them in the rendered pork fat. Then add the spinach leaves to the pan and stir everything together, being careful not to smash too many of the beans.
Continue to cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the beans have warmed through and the spinach has wilted. Season the dish with salt and black pepper to taste, remove from the heat, and serve the beans immediately, with some crusty bread on the side.
Substitutions
Most dark greens, such as kale, collards, chard, or the traditional escarole, can be substituted for spinach in this dish. The pancetta can be substituted with bacon or ham, or omitted entirely to make the dish vegetarian. You can use other white beans, such as navy beans, instead of cannellini beans. If you’d like to add some cheese, grate some fresh parmesan or pecorino over the dish immediately prior to serving.
[1] Italian immigration in the 19th century was driven in large part by the social and economic upheavals which shook the Apennine Peninsula as the new nation of Italy was forged from many smaller states. Upon arrival in America, Italians generally worked low-paying and menial jobs. In a depressingly familiar story, newly arrived Italian Americans faced hostility, discrimination, and even violence from many their new countrymen, egged on by nativist politicians who railed against a foreign immigrant population taking American jobs.
[2] Cannellini beans are actually kidney beans, a variety of the common bean Phaseolus vulgaris. Kidney beans come in four colorations—red, white speckled, red speckled, and white.
Recipe
Prep Time: 2 min Cook Time: 10 min Total Time: 12 min
Difficulty: 1/5
Heat Sources: 1 burner
Equipment: pan
Servings: 2
Ingredients
1 can (8 oz) cannellini beans, drained
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups spinach
3 oz pancetta, diced
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
Olive oil
Instructions
1. Add the pancetta and about 1 tsp olive oil to a cold pan, and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until much of the pork fat has rendered and the pancetta has crisped.
2. Add the minced garlic to the pan and fry for about 30 seconds, or until fragrant.
3. Add the drained cannellini beans to the pan, toss them with the pancetta, then add the spinach leaves. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the beans have warmed through and the spinach has wilted, about 5 minutes.
4. Season to taste with salt and black pepper, and serve hot.
