Tuscan White Bean Stew with Spinach & Radicchio

This Tuscan stew is a perfect example of Italian home cooking: a handful of good ingredients, almost no fuss, and a plate that somehow tastes richer than the sum of its parts. White beans, wilted spinach, and shredded radicchio simmer briefly in olive oil, garlic, anchovy, and chicken broth, then land on top of hot pasta.

Anchovy is the umami engine. Two little fillets melt into the oil and give the broth a deep, salty-savory backbone that you cannot achieve any other way. Don’t skip it. You won’t taste fish, you’ll just wonder why everything tastes better.

The radicchio is the surprise move, adding a pleasant bitter note that offsets the richness of the beans. Combined with a splash of lemon juice at the end, this dish has balance you rarely get in under 15 minutes of active cooking.

Chef Tips

• Drain and rinse canned cannellini beans well to cut down the starchy liquid.
• Mince the garlic fine so it distributes evenly through the broth.
• Cook the garlic-anchovy mixture just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Burnt garlic tastes bitter and ruins the sauce.
• Save some pasta water to loosen the stew if it gets too thick.

Variations

• Skip the chicken broth and use vegetable broth to make this fully vegetarian (just omit the anchovy too).
• Add a pinch of rosemary or thyme for a more Tuscan herb profile.
• Top with shaved Parmigiano Reggiano or a drizzle of really good finishing olive oil at the table.