Escarole and Beans in Red Sauce

LizP's Note:

I went to Buca Di Beppo and had their Tuscan Beans and Escarole and it was SO GOOD! I couldn't find a recipe for it, so I did my best to duplicate it and this was the result. DELICIOUS! Serve with crusty bread. You can use canned beans if want. Cooking time does not reflect the soaking time of the beans. If you substitute canned beans, the passive cooking time would go down to 45 minutes.

• Total Time: 2 hrs 20 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 2 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 1 lb dried great northern beans
• 5 garlic cloves
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 heads escarole, Rougly Chopped
• 30 ounces tomato sauce
• 28 ounces diced tomatoes
• 2 cups chicken broth
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Soak the beans overnight. Drain and cover with 6 cups hot water and cook for 1 1/2 hours or until tender. Drain.
2. Heat olive oil and chopped garlic for one minute.
3. Add chopped escarole and cook until wilted down. This will look like a lot of greens, but by the end will cook down until almost nothing.
4. Add Beans, Tomato Sauce, Diced Tomatoes and broth. Stir to combine.
5. Simmer together uncovered for 45 minutes until slightly thickened.
6. Add Salt and Pepper to taste.
7. Serve in bowls with delicious crusty bread!

Reviews

[Dorie's Lori]

Whole family, including kids, loved it! (Although never heard of restaurant.) Definitely see making more of this! I did play with it some, but would probably rate it 5 stars as written. I used canned beans, so I could serve it tonight. 3 cans. Also, doubled the garlic, added 1 large onion, and 3 turkey Italian sausages that needed using. Served with a sprinkle of cheese. BTW, it makes a lot! Thanks for the recipe! One more thing - I went out tonight, and when I got back, the house smelled heavenly!

[VegSocialWorker]

Delish! I've never had this dish, so I can't compare it to Buca- but we liked it. Changes made to fit my diet: veggie broth instead of chicken and no oil. Otherwise I kept to the recipe and did the beans from scratch. It was more of a soup or stew than I was expecting, but great none the less. This makes a ton and will be great in our lunches this week. Next time I'd add more garlic, just 'cause we like really stinky food. Thanks for posting!

[Good Cookin']

This is great. I saw the recipe this morning and went to buy the ingredients right away, because I love this at Buca. I think it is even better than Buca's, because it is less oily. Because of time constraints, I used canned beans. I would give this more than 5 stars if I could.