Caramelized onion, kale, and cannellini stew

My fiancée and I have an arrangement—she does all the dishes, but I have to do all the meal-picking. I have to pick even when I don't want to pick. I have to pick even when I've got no idea what to make. I even have to pick when there's nothing in the house to eat except kale, onions, and miscellaneous cans. Of course, the last isn't so bad—when you've only got three things, put them together in a pot and make stew!

"More caramelized onions? You just used those yesterday!", I hear you crying. "Hearty vegetable stew in late June?", you exclaim. Well, I'm a grown-up and I do what I want. Also, here in Boston we're still getting down into the 60's at night, so stew isn't completely out of season. And I do love me some stew.

Caramelized onion, kale, and cannellini stew

• 1-2 medium onions, peeled and sliced into crescents
• 1 tbsp. butter
• 2-3 cloves garlic, finely diced
• 3 tbsp. brandy
• 1 tsp. dried crushed red pepper
• 1 bunch kale, stems removed, thinly sliced
• 1 quart good-quality vegetable broth
• 1 14oz. can diced tomatoes
• 1 14oz. can cannellini (white beans), drained and rinsed
• Coarse-cracked black pepper to taste

Begin by peeling the onions, then slicing them into crescents¹. Heat the butter in a heavy-bottomed pot, then add the onions. Allow them to cook for a few minutes until the ones on the bottom start to brown, then stir them up. Stir again every five minutes or so when the bottom onions are browning, but no more than is necessary; if you stir too often, they'll lose too much fluid and cook dry. They'll start looking like this:

but end up like this:

Don't be afraid of a little bit of blackening and a good, rich color. If the mixture starts to get too dry at the bottom, add a bit more butter or some olive oil.

Once the onions are fully caramelized, add the chopped garlic. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, for a minute or two, until garlic just turns golden and fragrant.

Deglaze the pan with the brandy. You really should either remove the pan from the flame or measure the alcohol into a container before adding it—if a little cup of brandy catches on fire, it's a mess, but if a whole bottle goes, it's a grenade. Once the brandy is in, stir vigorously and scrape up all the tasty brown bits into the liquid.

Once the brandy has cooked into the onions a bit, add the kale. Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring often, for five minutes or so. It's ready when the kale is supple and wet-looking; once you hit this point, add the broth and a good dose of cracked black pepper.

Simmer this all together for fifteen minutes or so. Add the tomatoes (with their canning juice) and the beans (drained and rinsed), stir together, and heat to simmering.

Serve with toasts, crouton, or whatever else suits you.

¹If you haven't already, read through my previous post where I explained this way of slicing onions. It's essential to getting those long, lovely strips that you expect from caramelized onions.