Beans and Greens 2.0

These days I'm eating very little bread so I've had to come up with a new way to combine my beans and greens. So here's a stab at one of my favorite combos. Rather than cooking the beans with some bacon, mashing it up, spreading it on some garlic toast and adding a pile of cooked greens on top, the dish has morphed into something more, hmmm, not quite soupy, sort of a braise.

No particular quantities because I was just experimenting and not keeping track, and this type of dish doesn't require precise measurements anyway.

• 4 thick slices of pancetta, cut up
• olive oil for sauteing
• 2 small stalks of green garlic, chopped
• firm cooked dried beans (a combo of leftover Gigantes and chickpeas), about 1 1/2 cups or so
• fresh washed spinach, drained but not spun dry, no need to cut up unless the leaves are absolutely huge
• about 1 cup of chicken stock
• fresh ground black pepper
• your best extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

Heat a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Saute the pancetta in about 1 tablespoon of olive oil until it starts to become crisp. Add the chopped garlic to the pan and stir to mix in. Add the beans to the pan and saute for a few minutes to evaporate any excess moisture. Turn the heat down and continue to saute the beans slowly until they start to brown a bit. Pile the fresh spinach leaves into the pan (it was probably about 1/2 lb of leaves) and pour in the chicken stock. Cover the pan and turn the heat to high. When the stock has started to boil turn the heat down again and toss the leaves with some tongs a few times until they have all wilted. Salt is probably not necessary because pancetta is usually pretty salty and perhaps your chicken stock is as well, taste first before reaching for the salt. Don't overcook the spinach, it should just be wilted! Serve immediately in warmed soup bowls with a generous grind of fresh black pepper and a good drizzle of flavorful extra virgin olive oil.

Made 2 main course portions.