Recipe - Bean Stew With Fennel And Tomatoes

1 pound Dried cannellini beans
rinsed
4 cup Vegetable stock or broth
1 Bay leaf
6 Garlic cloves
unpeeled, crushed slightly
2 lg Bulbs fennel
One half cup Olive oil, OR up to:
2/3 cup Olive oil
Pref. Greek extra virgin
5 cup Peeled, seeded, tomatoes *
(*chopped), with juice
fresh or canned
1 cup Chopped fresh parsley
1 Lemon; juiced
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation Time: 25 minutes Soaking Time: several hours Cooking Time: 1
hour

1. Soak beans in a large bowl of water to cover for several hours or
overnight. Drain.

2. Place soaked beans into a pot with stock or broth and enough water to
cover by 2 inches. Add bay leaf and whole garlic cloves. Heat to a boil,
reduce heat to mediumlow and simmer, covered, until beans are tender
(about 45 minutes). (The beans should be softer than al dente but not
cooked to the point where they begin to disintegrate.) Don't drain beans
until fennel and tomato sauce is cooked.

3. Meanwhile, cut stalks off fennel bulb. Chop the feathery leaves and
reserve. Trim off root end of the bulbs; cut bulbs in half lengthwise and
slice thinly. There should be about 8 cups of fennel slices. Discard stalks
or save for soup. Heat 1/3 cup olive oil in a large heavy skillet; cook
fennel over mediumlow heat until wilted and translucent, about 1012
minutes. Do this in batches if necessary.

4. Add tomato to fennel; cook 5 or 6 minutes. Discard garlic and bay leaf
from beans; drain beans. Add beans to the skillet, tossing gently to
combine all the ingredients. Add parsley and chopped fennel leaves. Season
with salt and pepper. Remove from heat, add lemon juice and remaining
olive oil to taste. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Yield: 6 to 8