There’s no stock in this wintry vegetarian stew recipe—it relies on the starchy bean cooking liquid for its flavor (which is a polite way of saying sorry, but you can’t use canned beans here and get the same results).
Recipe information
Yield
8 Servings
Ingredients
1
6
1
1
1
2
¾
2
2
8
4
1
1
3
4
Preparation
Step 1
Slice 1 garlic clove in half crosswise and set aside; smash remaining garlic cloves with the flat side of a chef’s knife.
Step 2
Heat 4 Tbsp. oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium. Cook smashed garlic, stirring often, until golden, about 5 minutes. Add onion and fennel and season lightly with salt. Cook, stirring often, until onion is translucent and fennel and onion are browned around the edges, 8–10 minutes. Add lemon zest, rosemary, and ¾ tsp. red pepper flakes and cook, stirring often, until rosemary is very fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add bay leaves, beans, feta brine (if using; anywhere between ½–1 cup is fine), a couple generous pinches of salt, and 8 cups water and bring to a simmer. Partially cover pot, reduce heat to low, and gently simmer stew until beans are creamy and tender all the way through, 60–70 minutes.
Step 3
Add basil sprigs and olives to stew, then add escarole in batches, letting wilt slightly before adding more; simmer just until escarole is tender, about 3 minutes. (If stew is too thick, add more water to reach desired consistency.) Stir in lemon juice; taste and season with more salt if needed. Pluck out bay leaves; partially cover pot and keep stew warm over low while you make the toast.
Step 4
Heat broiler. Drizzle 2 Tbsp. oil total over both sides of bread and place on a rimmed baking sheet; season with salt. Broil until bread is golden and toasted, about 2 minutes per side. Let cool slightly, then rub with the cut sides of reserved garlic clove.
Step 5
To serve, slice toast in half and divide among shallow bowls; ladle stew over. Top with feta, basil leaves, and more red pepper flakes and drizzle with oil.
Step 6
Do Ahead: Stew can be made 3 days ahead. Let cool; cover and chill. Reheat covered over low.
Nutrition Per Serving
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Reviews (32)
Back to TopLove this stew! The second time I made it I learned that the navy beans I used just don't get soft enough even if I chill them for 2 hours. Now I soak the beans overnight, add more water and bring them a boil. then let them sit overnight again. Perfect.
BarbaraT
North Carolina
2/24/2024
Very tasty! I added some artichoke hearts and used about half the recommended feta because that’s what I had on hand. Brine-y and delicious.
Anonymous
Knoxville TN
1/10/2023
When I read the recipe I thought very wierd but interesting and I have all the ingredients (except escarole which I substituted arugula) so I made a half recipe. I wish I didn't. It's so good I want more! Its even better the next day. I used Alubia Blancas from Rancho Gordo and they made a nice thick bean broth. I did not put my bread at the bottom of the bowl because I wanted it crispy. I also drizzled some good olive oil over the top. But, amazing recipe that I will make over and over again. For anyone using an Instant Pot - I did not soak the beans and 25 minutes on high pressure was perfect. I used the saute function for the greens and olives.
Anonymous
Milwaukee, WI
11/12/2021
It's so so so so so good. When I first came across the recipe, I thought it sounded a little weird between the feta brine and hot olives, so of course I had to try it. I did add a few slices of bacon that I needed to use up, and I subbed dinosaur kale for the escarole because I couldnt find it at my store, but I dont think either changed the finished product much. I never eat leftovers but I ate nothing but this soup for three straight days.
Coppelia
Richmond, VA
9/20/2021
Absolutely love this dish...Ive made it many times and just last night I prepared a quick version using 2 cans of cannellini beans. I used the aquafaba from one can, drained the second. Appreciating all the elements, I followed the recipe completely. Though it takes some effort castlevetrano olives look best when pitted and torn, not commercially hole punched... I do so by crushing the fruit with my palm on a cutting board. My head of curly endive was large, so our meal was lighter than usual, but delicious as always! Thanks BA
Coco's Cooking
3/1/2021
I haven't tried this yet, but Can't I use a can of beans?
Anonymous
Wilmington, NC
1/18/2021
I made this but deviated drastically from the recipe (cause quarantine life made it so I couldn't get my hands on escarole or feta. Hoping things will be better in the fall and I can make it true to recipe then.) Instead, I took this recipe and mashed it up with Nine Herb Charm soup, an ancient Norse pagan springtime practice and recited the Nine Herb Charm while making. My nine herbs are a) fennel bulb, rosemary, fresh bay leaves, sage b) cilantro, spring onions, turnip greens, nettles, dandelion leaves, and turnip greens (when the stores are closed, the woods are open and free). Herbs in (a) were used in the first, simmering step, and herbs for part (b) were added at the end of the cooking process. Before eating, I recited the Nine Herbs Charm, stirring my hopes of healing for the world into the soup. Here is the Nine Herbs Charm, edited for coronavirus healing wishes and the nine herbs I used. *** indicates where I have edited the archived charm for my own purposes. I am not a grocery worker, janitor, nurse, doctor, virologist, counselor, delivery driver, or other essential worker. I am just a forager with a healing wish for the world. Remember, ***Sage***, what you made known, What you arranged at the Great proclamation. You were called Una, the oldest of herbs, you have power against three and against thirty, you have power against poison and against infection, you have power against the loathsome foe roving through the land. **I ask you for longevity and clarity of judgement.** And you, ***Dandelion***, mother of herbs, Open from the east, mighty inside. Over you chariots creaked, over you queens rode, over you brides cried out, over you bulls snorted. You withstood all of them, you dashed against them. May you likewise withstand poison and infection and the loathsome foe roving through the land. **May you help our bodies fight for us.** ***Green Onion*** is the name of this herb, it grew on a stone, it stands up against poison, it dashes against poison Nettle it is called, it attacks against poison, it drives out the hostile one, it casts out poison. This is the herb that fought against the serpent, it has power against poison, it has power against infection, it has power against the loathsome foe roving through the land. Put to flight now, Venom-loather, the greater poisons, though you are the lesser, until he is cured of both. **Green Onion, we ask for your Spring;** **renewal and rejuvenation, now and continuing, renewal of spirit and perseverance.** **Renewal and rejuvenation, later, when the infection has passed.** **Nettle, please give to us your strength, fortitude.** **Let us fight with force, yet tenderness and fortification of our fellows and strangers.** Remember, ***Rosemary,*** what you made known, what you accomplished at Alorford, that never a man should lose his life from infection after ***Rosemary*** was prepared for his food. **From Rosemary, we ask that our wisdom grow,** **that our memory of this time builds our collective knowing.** This is the herb that is called ***Bay Leaf**.* A seal sent it across the sea-right, a vexation to poison, a help to others. It stands against pain, it dashes against poison, A worm came crawling, it killed nothing. For Woden took nine glory-twigs, he smote the the adder that it flew apart into nine parts. **We ask bay leaf to witness our collective tragedy,** **and that we may have the strength so that in the end, we let our tragedy go.** There the ***Turnip Greens*** accomplished it against poison that she [the loathsome serpent] would never dwell in the house. **We ask of turnip greens to banish this poison,** **and give to us solid, trustable foundations from which to stand and fight.** ***Cilantro*** and *Fennell,* two of much might, They were created by the wise Lord, holy in heaven as He hung; He set and sent them to the seven worlds, to the wretched and the fortunate, as a help to all. It stands against pain, it fights against poison, it avails against 3 and against 30, against foe´s hand and against noble scheming, against enchantment of vile creatures. **With cilantro, we ask for that which was before** **die in this time. We shall move only forward,** **ridding ourselves of those structures with poor foundations.** **And with fennel, we ask for air: air that we breathe,** **air that sweeps the sickness away from us,** **air the brings with it the dawn and the spring, newness.** **Air for the communication of truth.** Now there nine herbs have power against nine evil spirits, against nine poisons and against nine infections: Against the red poison, against the foul poison, against the white poison, against the pale blue poison, against the yellow poison, against the green poison, against the black poison, against the blue poison, against the brown poison, against the crimson poison, against worm-blister, against water-blister, against thorn-blister, against thistle-blister, against ice-blister, against poison-blister, If any poison comes flying from the east, or any from the north, [or any from the south,]or any from the west among the people. Herbs stood over diseases of every kind. I alone know a running stream, and the nine adders beware of it. May all the weeds spring up from their roots, the seas slip apart, all salt water, when I blow this poison from you.
Planet Earth
4/26/2020