Betty’s Escarole and Beans

It's been a year since my sweet mother-in-law Betty passed, and as I was thinking about her the other day, I was overcome by a craving for escarole and beans. Having grown up in a very English family where meat, potatoes, and tasteless overcooked vegetables were the norm, I had never even heard of escarole when I married Gary back in 1977.

Radha with Sal and Betty Bello

Even though I had been vegetarian for many years before marrying into the Bello family, my Italian recipes were limited to the following:

1) pasta with tomato sauce.
2) pizza with tomato sauce.

That's not much of a repertoire.

I was pleasantly surprised to be served so many tasty dishes whenever we visited my in-laws. Betty had learned to cook from Gary's grandmother Nanny, and since she and Sal met when she was just thirteen years old, she had plenty of years to absorb Nanny’s Italian menus.

Nanny was an expert in knowing how to feed a family on very little, and loved to share her secrets with Betty. (And Gary too for that matter!) When I joined the family I too learned the ins and outs of cooking these great peasant meals that are simple, tasty and healthy.

Last summer after spending the day gardening in the front yard of our home in Vancouver, I had that same desire for escarole and beans. I hopped on my bike to purchase them at our local organic market. Surprisingly, I couldn't find it anywhere. For the next few days I shopped around disappointed that no one had my escarole! How strange is that?

Anyway, it's the end of April now and we're returning home to Vancouver next week. I'm so glad that I got my fix before traveling across the continent. Once home I'll keep searching for the elusive escarole, and I'm sure that with time and a bit of detective work I'll find it somewhere. Six months is way too long to go without a meal that brings back such pleasant memories of dear Betty.

Escarole and Beans

2 tbls olive oil
2 garlic cloves chopped
1 lb escarole chopped
4 cups veggie broth
1 fifteen (15) ounce can Cannellini Beans
Add to taste: pinch of salt, crushed red pepper flakes, parmesan cheese and a dash of parsley. (These are all great options!)

Directions:

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy large pot over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add the escarole and saute until wilted, about 2 minutes. Add a pinch of salt. Add the veggie broth, beans. Cover and simmer until the beans are heated through, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, parmesan and parsley to taste.

Ladle the soup into 6 bowls. Drizzle 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil over each. Serve with crusty bread.

Enjoy!