White Beans Alla Toscana with Extra-Virgin Olive Oil and Saba

• 1 cup dried white beans, soaked 1 to 4 hours
• 2 large carrots, peeled and halved
• 2 celery ribs, halved
• 16 garlic cloves
• 1/2 yellow Spanish onion, halved
• 2 dried whole arbol chiles
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 12 radicchio leaves
• 24 Garlic Crostini (page 46)
• Finishing-quality extra-virgin olive oil
• Saba, for drizzling (see headnote)
• Fresh thyme leaves
• Fresh coarsely ground black pepper

1. To make the white bean puree, drain the soaked beans and put them in a large saucepan with enough water to cover by 1 1/2 inches.
2. (Cooking them in just enough water yields richer, creamier beans than if you were to boil them in tons of water.)
3. Wrap the carrots, celery, garlic cloves, onion, and chiles in a doubled piece of cheesecloth and tie it into a closed bundle with kitchen twine.
4. Add the bundle to the pot with the beans, stir in the olive oil and salt, and bring the water to a boil over high heat.
5. Reduce the heat and simmer the beans until they are very tender and creamy, adding more water to the pot as needed, but never covering them by more than an inch to an inch and a half.
6. (The time will vary depending on how long you soaked the beans, from 1 hour to as long as 4.)
7. Turn off the heat and set the beans aside to cool slightly in their liquid.
8. Remove and discard the cheesecloth bundle and drain the beans, reserving the cooking liquid.
9. Transfer the beans to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade or the jar of a blender and puree, adding some of the reserved liquid if necessary, to form a spoonable paste that is smooth with some texture.
10. (Alternatively, you can mash the beans using a mortar and pestle or using a wire whisk as you would a potato masher to smash the beans.)
11. Taste for seasoning and add more salt, if desired.
12. Use the beans or transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to three days.
13. Bring the beans to room temperature before serving.
14. To prepare the radicchio, combine the vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.
15. Add the radicchio leaves and massage the marinade into the leaves.
16. Set aside to marinate the leaves for at least 15 minutes and up to several hours.
17. Preheat a cast-iron pan or a grill pan over high heat.
18. Place the radicchio leaves in the pan and cook for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, turning occasionally, until they are deep brown and caramelized in places but not crisp.
19. To assemble, lay the Garlic Crostini oiled side up on a work surface.
20. Rip each radicchio leaf in half and drape the half on each crostino, leaving the edges of the bread visible.
21. Spoon 1 heaping tablespoon of the white bean puree on top of the radicchio on each crostino, leaving the radicchio visible around the edges.
22. Create a small crater in each serving of white beans, drizzle the finishing-quality olive oil in the craters and about 1/2 teaspoon of the saba in and around each crater.
23. Sprinkle the thyme and grind the pepper over the crostini, and serve.
24. Vernaccia di San Gimignano (Tuscany)

white beans, carrots, celery, garlic, yellow spanish onion, arbol chiles, extravirgin olive oil, kosher salt, balsamic vinegar, extravirgin olive oil, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, radicchio, garlic, olive oil, thyme, ground black pepper

Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/white-beans-alla-toscana-with-extra-virgin-olive-oil-and-saba-393507 (may not work)