In this cycle of Cook the Books, we are reading the memoir, Blood, Bones and Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton, owner of the NYC restaurant Prune. Reading it, I first of all can't imagine how anyone survived such a chaotic youth and young adult growing up, but it was a compelling read nonetheless. And then there are a few strange quirks. For instance as someone who visits my own Mom every week, I can't quite imagine how she allowed nearly 20 years to go by before seeing her mother. Quite a few twists and turns in her family story, but she told it in an engaging way.
Reading the book, and particularly the pages devoted to her in-law family, I was reminded of my grandmother Amalia from Abruzzo Italy. In the chapter about meeting Gabrielle's mother-in-law Alda, her description of Alda's cooking particularly rang true.
She writes: Her food is so simple and prepared with such dispatch that it is almost unnecessary to speak of recipes, and wrangling one from her is more of a poetic than a didactic encounter. How many potatoes? "To the eye", she says. How long to cook the onions? "Until you put a dent in them," is her answer. What is the melted butter for? "Per la facis," she says, for the face.
Sounds exactly like my own experience in collecting grandmother's recipes, but in her case, by dint of persistence I persuaded her to go back and measure after putting out her ingredients so now I have many of them for passing on to family.
So, inspired by Alda, here is our family recipe for Swiss Chard and Cannelini Beans, which grandmother handed down to me and the rest of us for summer dinners. So simple, it's really just steamed swiss chard that is then recooked with olive oil, garlic and onion then combined with canned beans. A perfect side dish for a summer evening. Yet so straightforward in it's Abruzzo simpleness. Add some ditalini pasta and you have a meal that would satisfy even my carnivore Mid-Atlantic born husband.
Abruzzo Style Swiss Chard with Cannellini Beans
Ingredients
1 bunch Swiss Chard
1 medium chopped onion
3-4 cloves chopped garlic
1-2 pinches dried red chilies
1 can cannellini beans
a few splashes good chicken stock
a few splashes extra virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper
Preparation
Cut stems from the swiss chard leaves, and cut leaves into 2-3 inch horizontal slicese. Steam chard in a small amount of water in a covered pan, starting with the stems, adding leaves after 2 minutes. Steam till leaves are wilted, just a few minutes more. Remove from pan and drain.
Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until softened. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Add a few pinches of dried red chiles to taste. Toss in steamed chard and stir. Stir in white beans and warm through. Splash in a bit (roughly one half cup) of good chicken stock to moisten, let reduce for a few minutes but careful not to overcook the chard. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and serve.
This is my contribution to the June- July cycle of Cook the Books hosted by the lovely Simona of briciole. Anyone can participate by reading the current selection, taking inspiration from it and cooking/posting about an inspired dish.
