White Beans Alla Toscana with Extra-Virgin Olive Oil and Saba

Name: White Beans Alla Toscana with Extra-Virgin Olive Oil and Saba
Yield: makes 24 crostini
Ingredients: 1 cup dried white beans, soaked 1 to 4 hours; 2 large carrots, peeled and halved; 2 celery ribs, halved; 16 garlic cloves; 1/2 yellow Spanish onion, halved; 2 dried whole arbol chiles; 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil; 2 tablespoons kosher salt, plus more to taste; 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar; 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt; 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; 12 radicchio leaves; 24 Garlic Crostini (page 46); Finishing-quality extra-virgin olive oil; Saba, for drizzling (see headnote); Fresh thyme leaves; Fresh coarsely ground black pepper

January 26, 2012

The crostini selection served at just about every restaurant near my house in Italy includes toppings of chicken livers, chopped tomatoes, and white bean purée, such as this one.We simmer the beans with tons of garlic and olive oil, and drizzle the crostini with saba, Sardinian grape must. If you can’t find saba, substitute vin cotto, a sweet, syrupy condiment that means “cooked wine,” or aged balsamico condimento. It is a nice option for vegetarians.We grill the radicchio for these crostini but gave instructions for cooking it on the stovetop because it would be unrealistic to light the grill just to cook a few leaves of the radicchio. That said, if you happen to have the grill on . . .

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