Sunday, August 22, 2010

Italian Beans & Greens

I first had this at an Italian restaurant called Umberto's in Myrtle Beach, SC.  They serve this as a starter with every meal.  It was so delicious that I had to take a chance and ask for the recipe.  I didn't really think they would give it to me, but lo and behold the waiter came back with a typed up copy.  Apparently I wasn't the first person to ask, and the restaurant was nice enough to have a revised, simplified version on hand for customers who asked. 

I've made this several times since, and it is pretty filling.  It is also really easy to make!  It's almost like a really thick soup and we usually just eat as a main course with some Italian bread.

Italiana Beans and Greens
2 cans of Northern White Beans
3/4 of a can of chopped collard greens (drained)
1 can of chopped tomatoes with juice
4 chopped garlic cloves
1 small onion, sliced
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. ham base (Make sure you use this!)
Salt & Pepper to taste

Mix everything in a large, glass baking dish.  Cook for 1 1/2 hours, covered. 

3 comments:

  1. Hi. I was recently at Umberto's and loved this dish. I didn't know I could have asked for the recipe and I was only going to try to find a copycat. Could you tell me if you have to make the ham base or if it can be bought at the supermarket? It's such a little amount. Also, you say to mix everything in a large, glass baking dish and "cook" for 1.5 hrs. covered. Is it baked? Or can it be cooked on a stove? Thank you so much for the recipe.

    ReplyDelete
  2. We just had this at Umbertos last night. But they also had elbow macaroni too

    ReplyDelete