You can make this salad with Braised Cannellini, and save the rest for a side dish, or you can soak and cook an extra 1/2 cup of beans when you make the Escarole and White-Bean Soup on page 86. In that case, remove the beans for this salad before you stir in the escarole and finish the soup. If you do make this salad when you’re making escarole soup, substitute some of the tender, inner leaves of escarole for the arugula, and use the tougher, outer escarole leaves for the soup. You don’t have to use cannellini beans. Kidney beans, chickpeas, or just about any beans you like can go into this salad. Whichever beans you use, cut the onion thin and at the last minute so it stays crunchy.

　　

Ingredients

makes 6 servings

　　3/4 cup Braised Cannellini (page 349)

　　2 large bunches arugula (about 1 pound)

　　1 small red onion, sliced thin

　　Salt

　　Freshly ground black pepper

　　1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, or to taste

　　1 1/2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar, or to taste

　　

Step 1

Fish the right amount of beans out of the cooking liquid and let them cool completely on a baking pan.

　　

Step 2

Meanwhile, pluck off the protruding stem ends of the arugula and discard any wilted or yellow leaves. Wash the arugula in a large bowl or sinkful of water to remove all sand and grit. Dry the arugula well, preferably in a salad spinner, and transfer it to a large mixing bowl. Scatter the cooled beans and the onion over the greens, and season everything with salt and pepper. Pour enough of the olive oil over the salad to coat the leaves lightly, toss to coat, then repeat with the vinegar. Check the seasoning, adding more salt, pepper, oil, or vinegar as you like. Serve immediately.

　　From Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich Copyright © 2001 by A La Carte Communications and Tutti a Tavola, LLC. Published by arrangement with Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of The Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.Buy the full book from Amazon.