Simple White Beans Recipe With Citrus Roasted Fennel

This white beans recipe is super hearty and makes for a delicious side dish or appetizer. I love roasting fennel because it completely changes the flavor—it’s sweet and caramelized. You simply halve the fennel, then cut into quarters, douse it in olive oil, and some fresh orange juice with orange zest, habanero chili, then pop it in a 400-degree oven and let it get all caramelized and brown (be sure to flip it halfway through!). While that’s in the oven, I’m going to take some garlic, and some shallots, then sautee that in olive oil, throw in some white beans (this is a white beans recipe after all!)—and yes, they are canned white beans because I never have time to soak them overnight. Once they are really savory and flavorful, I smash them together with the roasted fennel and finish it off with treviso (similar to radicchio and you can use either). The bitterness of the treviso is a really nice counterbalance to those heartier flavors. Then I’ll finish it off with some preserved lemon to give it that acidic tanginess and brightness on the palette.

Watch the video to follow along with my cooking process for this white beans recipe, then scroll down for ingredients and method, plus, a few cooking tools I use to create this delicious meal.

WHITE BEANS & CITRUS ROASTED FENNEL

Athena Calderone

Ingredients

2 bulbs of fennel, trimmed, cut into wedges

1-2 Cara Cara or Navel Orange

1 Habanero Chili, finely chopped

2 Garlic Cloves, minced

2 Shallots, finely chopped

30oz White Beans, rinsed and drained

Olive Oil

Kosher Salt

Fresh Black Pepper

Flaky Salt

Fresh Oregano and Thyme Sprigs

1 Preserved Lemon Rind, thinly slivered

1 Head of Treviso, thinly chopped

Fresh Parsley, chopped

Method

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Place 3 tablespoons of oil in a shallow baking dish. Add the fennel, evenly coated in oil. Zest one orange over fennel wedges. Season with salt, pepper. Sprinkle with half of the finely chopped Habanero Chili. Roast until caramelized, 30-35 minutes, turning halfway through. Once fennel is golden on both sides, squeeze some orange juice over the fennel, during the remaining 10-15 minutes of roasting.

In a large pot, pour a hardy douse of olive oil, over medium heat. Add garlic, shallots, and the rest of the chilis. Once they become translucent, squeeze fresh lemon juice from 1 lemon into the pot. Drain and rinse white beans and add them to the pot as well. Toss in fresh oregano and thyme sprigs, and add a half cup of water, season with fresh black pepper and salt and let simmer for 15 minutes. If you notice the beans start to become dry, add more water.

To serve, spoon beans onto a platter and drizzle the garlic, shallot, chili and orange-infused olive oil from the roasted fennel. Haphazardly place fennel wedges on top of the beans. Sprinkle with treviso, preserved lemons, chopped parsley, freshly squeezed orange juice, and orange zest, flaky sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

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