Sometimes I really miss my dad, ok, I always miss my dad. One of the things I miss the most is spending our Sundays with him at his house. My sister and I would go over and spend the day with him. He’d either order a pizza or make us dinner. It was the day that we all had free to just hang out and relax. Sometimes we’d order a pizza but a lot of times he would cook. His meals weren’t elaborate but always so delicious. One of our favorites were his budget friendly Spinach and Beans. This dish in particular was my favorite of his.
Budget friendly
Brothy and satisfying, but not a soup. Cooked to perfection it is a delicious and filling meal. It’s surprising what a little sautéed garlic and olive oil can create with these basic ingredients. It’s literally a bag of spinach, garlic, a can of cannellini beans, a box of pasta and some chicken broth. This was a poor man’s meal that my grandmother would make to feed her 7 children during hard times that were felt even after Great Depression.
This dish started with him sautéing the spinach in a pan. Since he would use defrosted frozen spinach, he would tell us the key was to make sure we squeezed every single bit of liquid out of the spinach so it was really dry. Then he would use a really good amount of olive oil to fry the spinach up.
Don’t be cheap
“Don’t be cheap with the oil and add salt because the spinach has no flavor” he’d say. Next he’d continue with a nice handful of rough chopped garlic (never from the jar), and it would soon start to smell delicious in the kitchen. My dad sautéed the garlic and spinach for a while, he would add the chicken broth and beans and let the dish simmer for at least 40 minutes and until the beans were super soft and creamy. This dish would be complete in a deep bowl over some Ditalini pasta. Maybe some Parmesan if you like and a nice crusty piece of Italian bread for dipping.
Warm and comforting
What a dish it was. Even though it was so simple, it was something about the way he did it that made it so special and comforting. For many Sunday’s my sister and I would be at his house watching the PBS channel and doing lot’s of talking and joking around and making memories even though we didn’t know it at the time.
While cooking can seem like a daily daunting chore, it can also be a good opportunity to spend time with the ones we love, make memories and build some traditions. Give this recipe a try. It’s super healthy, inexpensive and something easy you can do with your family. I hope you enjoy it.
Ingredients:
- Cannellini beans (or small white beans) canned
- 1 bag of frozen spinach thawed (you can definitely use fresh as well)
- 4-5 cloves of smashed and chopped garlic (or as much as you like)
- 2 cups of chicken broth
- 1 box of Ditalini pasta (if you can’t find this than any box of small pasta such as little shells or Tubettini)
- olive oil
Directions:
- Once spinach is thawed be sure to squeeze and press out all of the liquid. I usually put it in a strainer and continuously press down with the back of a spoon. You could also put it all in a clean tea towel and squeeze out the liquid, or you could even use your hands. *If you are using fresh spinach you can place it right into the oil and begin to cook it down.
- Grab a deep pan or a Dutch oven. Add a nice swirl of olive oil to fully coat the bottom of the pan and slowly start to heat it. Once your spinach is dry, add it to the hot oil. Carefully add the spinach. It may slightly pop the oil because the spinach will still have some moisture no matter how much liquid you removed. Continue to cook the spinach in the oil for about 3 minutes, be sure to season with salt. I suggest a nice healthy pinch and taste it. If it’s not enough, add a little more.
- Add in the chopped garlic. You can lower the temperature at this point and be sure to stir it all around because you want to make sure you do not burn the garlic.
- Once you’ve reached an additional 2 to 3 minutes sautéing the garlic, slowly add your broth. Be careful because adding liquid to an oily pan is going to make it sizzle a lot. You definitely want to lower the flame a bit and do it quickly and carefully (and pour low to the pan, the higher you pour the more the splatter). Stir it up and add in the drained cannellinis. Cover the pan and simmer. Your pan should never be dry so check it about 20 minutes in, if a lot of the liquid evaporated add a little bit of water. Let it go for about another 20-25 minutes.
- While your spinach and beans are simmering, boil your water and cook up your ditalini. As soon as the water is boiled and you add your pasta, add a generous portion of salt. This is truly you’re only real time to get the pasta nicely salted. Once it’s reached the al dente stage drain and set aside. Even if you’re not a fan of al dente pasta, trust me on this. Once you mix the pasta with the spinach and beans, the broth is going to cook the pasta even more and you do not want mushy pasta.
- When your spinach and beans are done you can either mix everything in one bowl to serve family style or you can add the pasta to your bowl and spoon over the spinach and bean mixture. If you like you can finish it off with a sprinkle of parmesan and a nice piece of Italian bread. Grab a spoon and enjoy!
Check out my other delicious recipes:
