Mussels With Farro Cannellini And Ceci Recipes

Steps:

• Rinse the chickpeas, and place in a bowl with cold water covering them by 4 inches. Do the same with the cannellini, in a separate bowl. Soak both for 12 to 24 hours.
• Drain and rinse the chickpeas, and put them in the big saucepan with about 7 cups of fresh cold water. Set the pot over medium-high heat, and drop in the chopped carrot, celery, and onion, the halved cherry tomatoes, and 4 tablespoons of the olive oil. Bring the water to a boil, partially cover the pan, and adjust the heat to maintain a steady, bubbling simmer. Stir occasionally.
• After the chickpeas have cooked for an hour, drain and rinse the cannellini and stir them into the pot. There should be at least an inch of liquid covering the beans; add more water if necessary. Return to the boil, partially cover, and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring now and then.
• Rinse the farro grains in a sieve, and stir in with the beans, along with the 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the peperoncino. There should be about 1/4 inch of liquid covering the beans and grain; add more water if necessary. Return to the boil, partially cover, and simmer for about 30 minutes or longer, until the beans and the farro are tender-add water if needed to keep the beans and grains barely covered with liquid as they finish cooking. When they are done, most of the surface water should have been absorbed or evaporated, but the stew should be slightly soupy.
• While the farro cooks, prepare the mussels. Pour the remaining 4 tablespoons olive oil in the sauté pan, and scatter in the garlic cloves and remaining 1/4 teaspoon peperoncino. Cook for 3 minutes or so over medium-high heat, until the garlic is lightly colored, then add all the rinsed mussels at once. Tumble them around the pan quickly, to coat with oil, and put on the cover. Cook over high heat for about 2 minutes, shaking the covered pan a couple of times, just until the mussels are open, and take the pan off the stove.
• Shuck the mussels right over the pan, letting the juices and meat drop in. Discard the shells (and any mussels that did not open). If you like, leave a dozen or so mussels in the shell for a garnish.
• When the farro and beans are cooked, pour the shucked mussels and their juices into the pot and stir well-the consistency should be rather brothy. Heat to the boil, and cook for just a minute, to make sure everything is nice and hot. Taste, and adjust salt. Stir in the chopped parsley, and spoon portions into warm pasta bowls; garnish with unshucked mussels if you saved them. Drizzle good olive oil over each, and serve immediately.
• To prepare in advance: Cook the beans and farro until tender, following recipe, and remove from the heat. Let them sit in the saucepan up to 3 hours (they will absorb liquid and thicken). Shortly before serving, cook and shuck the mussels. Stir the mussel juices into the beans and farro, and heat slowly to a simmer. Stir in the mussels, and finish as above.

Steps:

• Blanch the cavolo nero in heavily salted boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain, let cool, and squeeze out the excess water with your hands. Cut the greens into 1-inch ribbons.
• Heat a very large sauté pan over high heat for 2 minutes. Pour in the 1/2 cup olive oil and wait a minute. Add the onion, fennel, garlic, crumbled chiles, rosemary, and thyme to the pan. Season with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and lots of pepper. Cook over medium heat 3 to 4 minutes, until the onion starts to wilt. Add the greens, and stir them to coat with the oil and onions. Cook about 10 minutes, until the vegetables are translucent and tender and the greens start to break down.
• Drain the beans and reserve the liquid. Add the beans to the vegetables, and cook a minute or two. Turn the heat up to high and add the clams. Cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, then add the mussels, and stir well to combine. Pour in the vermouth and cover the pan. Let the shellfish steam a few minutes, until they open. Remove the lid and add 1 cup of the bean-cooking liquid. If the dish doesn't seem brothy enough, add a little more. Bring to a boil, stirring well to combine the flavors, and swirl in the butter. Taste for seasoning.
• Serve in a large shallow bowl with a large serving spoon. Pass the super-good extra-virgin olive oil and hunks of crusty bread at the table. Remember to provide small bowls for shells.
• Cannellini Beans
• Toast the fennel seeds in a small pan over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, until they release their aroma and are golden brown. Pound the fennel seeds coarsely in a mortar.
• Heat a medium pot over high heat for 2 minutes. Pour in the olive oil, and add the rosemary sprig and the crumbled chile. Let them sizzle in the oil about 1 minute. Add the onion, thyme, and fennel seeds, and sauté about 2 minutes, until the onion is wilted.
• Add the beans to the pan and cook another minute, stirring to coat well. Cover with water by 3 inches, and bring to a boil over high heat. Turn the heat down to low, and place a paper towel over the beans to keep them underwater. Simmer, stirring once in a while. After 30 minutes, add the salt to the beans, and continue cooking at a low simmer until the beans are tender, about an hour. Remove the beans from the heat, and let them cool in their juices. As the beans cook, add water as necessary, but not too much. You want the bean liquid to be rich and a little starchy, because it will be an important part of the finished broth.
• Note
• I like to use a wide pan, ideally 14 inches across, as opposed to a deep pan for this dish. That way all of the shellfish get coated and cook evenly. With a deeper pot, it's difficult to stir, and inevitably some of the mussels and clams end up on the top, brothless and dried out. If you don't have a lid for that wide pan, use a piece of tinfoil or two to fake a lid for steaming. And if you don't have a really wide pan, use two of your widest pans and split the recipe between them.
• You can make the beans the day before.