Fish cooked with beans is traditional fare in Tuscany, and this basic skate brodetto can easily become a hearty one-dish meal with the simple addition of cannellini.

　　

Ingredients

　　

Step 1

You’ll need 3 cups of cooked beans, either home-prepared or canned. When you start frying the onions for the brodetto, heat the beans in a saucepan with a cup of their cooking liquid, vegetable broth, or water. After the tomato paste and vinegar water have cooked for 3 or 4 minutes, pour the hot beans and liquid into the pan, and gently stir to incorporate into the brodetto; if you have big fish pieces in the pan already, don’t break them up. Add more water or broth if the sauce is thick. Cook for another 8 to 10 minutes; as in the basic recipe, add 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt to taste, and the skate fillets (if you are using them) for the last 5 minutes of cooking. Serve fish and beans together in warm soup

　　

Step 2

bowls.

　　From Lidia's Family table by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich Copyright (c) 2004 by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich Published by Knopf.Lidia Bastianich hosts the hugely popular PBS show, "Lidia's Italian-American kitchen" and owns restaurants in New York City, Kansas City, and Pittsburgh. Also the author of Lidia's Italian Table and Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen, she lives in Douglaston, New York. Jay Jacob's journalism has appeared in many national magazines.From the Trade Paperback edition.