Crispy White Beans Recipes

Steps:

• Toss lemon slices and shallots together in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper; set aside. (This will lightly pickle the shallot and soften the lemon while you cook the chicken.)
• Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add chicken, skin-side down. Using kitchen tongs or a spatula, press the chicken evenly into the skillet so it makes good contact with the hot surface (which will promote browning). Cook, resisting the urge to check too frequently, until the skin is deeply golden brown (think of the color of a well-baked croissant), 5 to 8 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken pieces. At this stage, most of the fat should be rendered and the skin should be crispy. Flip and continue to cook until pieces are cooked through, another 7 to 10 minutes.
• Using kitchen tongs, transfer chicken to a plate to rest, leaving all the fat behind. Add lemon and shallot to the chicken fat, standing back if you need because it will sizzle. Cook, swirling the skillet, until the lemon has started to caramelize and brown, 3 to 5 minutes. (It'll smell like a mix of lemonade and caramel.)
• Add the beans to the skillet and season with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing occasionally, until the beans have started to brown a bit and soak up all of that caramelized lemon chicken fat, 3 to 4 minutes. Working in batches, add kale and toss to wilt, seasoning with salt and pepper as you go.
• Return the chicken to the skillet, along with any juices that have collected on the plate, and cook for a minute or two, just so everything gets to know each other in there.
• Divide the chicken, beans and kale between plates, making sure to top each serving with a few lemon slices. Sprinkle with flaky salt and a final few turns of pepper, and drizzle with olive oil.

Steps:

• In a bowl, let the beans soak in the buttermilk for a few minutes, then drain in a sieve. Place the sieve over a bowl.
• Heat 3/4 cup olive oil and the chili oil in a 10-inch skillet over high heat. While the oil is heating, sprinkle the coating over the beans and shake in the sieve to coat the beans well. Repeat with the coating that falls into the bowl. Don't worry if they don't absorb all the coating.
• Carefully add the beans to the hot oil, spread them into an even layer, and cook without stirring until they are browned and crisp on the bottom, 6 to 7 minutes. Turn with a spatula and brown on the other side, another 5 to 6 minutes, adjusting the heat so they don't burn. When they are evenly browned, add sliced garlic and brown for another 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add chiles to the pan, and continue to fry for another 15 seconds before adding the sage. With a slotted spoon, transfer the beans to paper towels to drain. Saute until the leaves turn crisp, about 1 minute. Top with lemon zest, then remove from the heat.
• Chef's Notes:
• The Arborio Rice Coating is by far the best coating I know for anything fried. It gives an especially crisp crust to fried fish fillets, squid, shrimp, eggplant and veal cutlets. You may as well make a lot because it keeps well in the freezer, and it's hard to grind less than 1 cup of rice in a blender. If you have a spice mill, you can halve the recipe.
• Arborio Rice Coating is one of the few places I use table salt. Sea salt and kosher salt are too heavy to stay evenly distributed in the coating.
• Bringing the beans up to a simmer slowly helps keep the skins from splitting.
• Arborio Rice Coating:
• 1 cup Arborio rice
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup semolina
• 2 tablespoons table salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Grind the rice in a blender until very fine. Put it in a bowl and add the all-purpose flour, semolina, salt and pepper. Toss until well blended. Store in a sealed container in the freezer for maximum freshness.
• Yield: about 5 cups

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Prepare the mushrooms: In a large (12-inch) ovenproof skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally until they begin to brown and crisp around the edges, 7 to 10 minutes. Add the butter, shallot, garlic and thyme, and stir until the shallot has softened slightly and the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute. Season with salt.
• Turn off the heat and stir the white beans into the skillet. Toss until combined, then top evenly with feta. Add the stock and bake until the stock is slightly bubbling and the feta has slightly softened, 13 to 15 minutes.
• While the beans bake, make your bread crumbs: In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Turn off the heat, add the crumbs and toss until evenly covered with butter. Season with salt and pepper.
• Remove the mushroom mixture from the oven and turn on the broil setting. Top the mushrooms and beans with the bread crumbs, then broil until the bread crumbs are golden and the feta is crisp on the edges, 1 to 2 minutes. (Don't walk away!) Scatter with parsley and serve directly from the pan.