More Tips from Milk Street:

If y'all buy a loaf or two from the local bakery and permit information technology get rock-difficult stale, there's redemption. Soak the difficult pieces in a basin of warm water for 5 to 10 minutes. Once tender enough to break apart and clasp with your hands, band out as much moisture as possible from the bread and transfer to a rimmed baking canvass, breaking into crouton-sized pieces (uniformity isn't important). Drizzle with plenty of olive oil, common salt and pepper and bake at 375 degrees until browned and crisp, stirring every ten minutes or so. Use in salads, soups, or over beans. If you lot adopt, the croutons can be prepared in nonstick skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

While the peposo roasts, consider making a pan full of roasted tomatoes, which melt at the same temperature. The depression-and-tedious roasting brings out the best in mild-tasting supermarket tomatoes, concentrating the moisture and giving them an addictively chewy texture. They can be chopped up and added to the white beans, pasta fagioli or ribollita, stuffed into sandwiches or added to soups and frittatas.

The Sunday Recipe:

One of my favorite ways to solve the trouble of weeknight cooking is to make a big batch of stew on Sunday. It is like shooting fish in a barrel to repurpose during the week in a variety of ways, each with its own distinct personality. Peposo alla Fornacina is a boldly flavored Tuscan beef stew redolent of black pepper, red wine, and garlic. It'due south a stand up-alone repast with smashed or mashed potatoes, buttered noodles, or our favorite option, polenta.

During the Week...

Pappardelle with Tuscan Beef Ragu: Leftovers from the peposo can easily be turned into a rich beefiness ragu with a few minor additions. Before yous eddy the pasta, consider blanching broccoli or dark-green beans until crisp-tender in the seasoned water (3-4 minutes), and then tossing with a picayune garlic sautéed in olive oil or butter spiked with chili flakes. Spritz with lemon juice before serving the vegetables alongside the pasta.

Ribollita: For a simple spin on ribollita, simmer the beans beneath with a few handfuls of babe spinach or arugula, the residue of the peposo (just the sauce or include some of the chopped meat), and crispy fried croutons—fabricated with either fresh, crusty bread or the hard, staled bits hiding in the back of the staff of life box (run into below). Serve with Parmesan and extra-virgin olive oil.

Cannellini beans simmered until creamy and tender with garlic and herbs can be used in a multitude of ways. Plain, they brand a succulent side dish, or pinnacle with bacon or pancetta for a quick, filling master.

The Dominicus Recipe:

Consider a pot of beans as coin in the banking concern. Our White Beans with Rosemary and Thyme is a quick riff on classic Tuscan fagioli al fiasco (cannellini beans traditionally cooked overnight in cooling embers). The beans taste neat on their own with a spoonful of actress-virgin olive oil, braised greens or a couple sausage links. Or, the beans can easily be turned into pasta con fagioli and ribollita. Brand a double batch to stretch them through the calendar week.

During the Week...

Tuscan White Beans with Sausages: Fry your favorite Italian sausages and serve over the beans (warming the beans in the same skillet to absorb the meat's juices and browned bits of fond) with crusty bread and a simple green salad dressed with your favorite vinaigrette (we like peppery arugula paired with a white balsamic-olive oil dressing: 3-parts oil to 1-role vinegar emulsified with a spoonful of Dijon mustard and seasoned to sense of taste).

Pasta con Fagioli: Rut and thin the beans with a picayune broth or pasta water to loosen the texture, then mix with 12 ounces (dry weight) of cooked chunky pasta, like orecchiette or tubetti, and top with a shower of grated Parmesan or Pecorino and a liberal drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil. If yous like, fold in a scattering of chopped oil-packed sunday-dried tomatoes, sweet-tart piquanté peppers or roasted tomatoes (see aside) for accent.