Abra Berens' Greens + Bean Pot Licker

Sometimes the best cooking comes from letting vegetables completely surrender. Not just barely cooked, not al dente, but cooked until they're soft, tender, and infused with flavor. It goes against what we often hear about keeping vegetables crisp, but there's deep wisdom in this approach, especially when you're cooking greens and vegetables in something as flavorful as bean pot liquor.

This recipe from Abra Berens's cookbook Grist challenges the usual way we think about cooking broccolini and greens. As Abra explains, "I tend to love greens and broccolini cooked just enough that it doesn't feel raw but is still a bit crisp. Not here." Her friend Erin Stanley introduced her to the idea of cooking broccolini with pasta water until it's just about to fall apart, and Abra adapted it by using bean pot liquor instead. The result is vegetables that are meltingly tender, deeply flavored, and absolutely delicious.

Why This Works

The magic of this dish is in the pot liquor, that flavorful liquid left over from cooking beans. It's rich with the beans' natural starches and whatever aromatics you cooked them with, creating a savory broth that's far more interesting than plain water or even vegetable stock. When you simmer broccolini and hearty greens in this liquid, they absorb all that flavor while breaking down into something tender and comforting.

The beans themselves add protein and creaminess, turning what might have been a side dish into something substantial enough to be a meal. A splash of vinegar at the end adds brightness and balance. Serve it with crusty bread to soak up all that delicious liquid, and maybe some grated hard cheese if you like, and you have simple, nourishing comfort food at its best.

The Star: Cassoulet Beans

Let's talk about Cassoulet beans, also known as Cannulah™ or Classic Flat Whites™. These are the large, creamy white beans that French cooks have treasured for generations. A favorite of French cooks, these beans hold their large shape beautifully and soak up all the flavor around them, making them perfect for a dish like this where they'll simmer in that precious pot liquor.

What makes Cassoulet beans ideal for this recipe is their substantial size and ability to maintain their shape while becoming incredibly creamy inside. They produce a light-bodied, fresh, herbal broth that becomes the foundation of this dish. Their mild flavor allows the greens and broccolini to shine while adding satisfying bites throughout.

Part of the Classic Flat White™ project, this is a very special bean bred from the exact same seed famously grown in France and Spain. The idea "began with a dinner in France" when a farmer and a bean breeder became enchanted with sublime white beans that had been cooked to perfection. After many years dedicated to breeding the perfect cassoulet bean that would thrive organically here in the US, the results are delectable.

Our Cassoulet beans are grown by Mark Doudlah at Doudlah Farms in Wisconsin. Mark is a 6th generation farmer who transformed his family's conventional farm into a certified regenerative organic operation. After his father was diagnosed with Mantle Cell Lymphoma, known as The Midwest Farmers' Cancer, due to long-term exposure to farm chemicals, Mark knew he had to change how they farmed. Today, Doudlah Farms goes beyond organic with Regenerative Organic Certification and continuous testing to ensure the cleanest, most nutrient-dense beans possible. The beans are planted harmoniously with sunflowers in a living trellis system, just like in France. Learn more about Mark and Doudlah Farms.

About Pot Liquor

If you're not familiar with pot liquor (also called potlikker), it's the flavorful liquid left over from cooking beans or greens. In Southern cooking, it's treasured for its rich, mineral-packed flavor and is often sopped up with cornbread or used as a base for soups. It's too good to throw away, and this recipe shows exactly why you should save it.

The pot liquor from your beans carries all the flavor of whatever aromatics you cooked them with, garlic, onions, herbs, bay leaves, plus the natural starches and proteins released by the beans themselves. It's like a secret ingredient that adds depth to everything it touches.

Building the Dish

The process is wonderfully straightforward. You start by softening onions and garlic in olive oil, creating a fragrant base. Then the broccolini and hearty greens (mustard greens, kale, or collards all work beautifully) get tossed in to coat with the oil and aromatics.

The beans and their pot liquor go in next. Everything comes to a boil, then settles into a gentle simmer. This is where patience pays off, you let it cook, uncovered, for 15 to 20 minutes until the broccolini and greens are completely tender, just about to fall apart. If it gets too dry along the way, add a splash of water.

At the end, taste it. If it needs a bit of brightness or pep, add a splash of vinegar. Any variety works, red wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, sherry vinegar, whatever you have on hand.

A Different Way to Think About Vegetables

This recipe is a reminder that there's more than one way to cook vegetables well. Sometimes crisp and bright is what you want. But sometimes, especially on cold days or when you want something nourishing and comforting, vegetables cooked until tender and infused with flavor are exactly right.

It's the kind of dish that feels like home, the kind that makes you want to curl up with a bowl and a piece of bread and take your time savoring every bite.

Abra Berens' Greens + Bean Pot Licker

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Category

Main Course

Cuisine

American

I tend to love greens and broccolini cooked just enough that it doesn't feel raw but is still a bit crisp. Not here. My friend Erin Stanley turned me on to cooking broccolini with some pasta cooking water until it is just about to fall apart. Swap pot liquor for pasta water and here we are. Feel free to add some pork or anchovy if you like, but honestly, I don't anymore. – Abra Berens

Featured bean: Cassoulet

Other beans to try: Cranberry, Baby Butter, Cannellini

Ingredients

• Olive oil

• 1 onion (about 8 oz), thinly sliced

• 4 garlic cloves, minced

• Salt

• 2 bunches broccolini (about 1½ lb), ends trimmed and stalks cut into 2 inch pieces

• 1 bunch mustard greens or other hearty greens, such as kale or collards (about 8 oz), rinsed and cut into 1 inch ribbons

• 1 cup boiled Cassoulet beans

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• 2 cups bean pot liquor (from a previous bean session)

• 2 tbsp vinegar, any variety (optional)

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Directions

1. Cook the aromatics: In a large frying or sauté pan, heat 2 big glugs of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic with a big pinch of salt and sweat until soft, 7 minutes or so. Add the broccolini and hearty greens and toss to coat.

2. Simmer until tender: Add the beans and their pot liquor. Increase the heat to high to bring to a boil, then lower to a low simmer and cook, uncovered, until the broccolini and greens are just about to fall apart, 15 to 20 minutes. If it starts to get dry along the way, add a bit of water.

3. Finish and serve: Add the vinegar if the dish needs a bit of pep. Serve with bread to soak up the liquid and several gratings of any hard cheese, if you like.