Instructions: Heres an easy recipe derived from adapted from Alice Waters Chez Panisse Vegetables cookbook. Very hearty and reminiscent of Italy (Florentines are known as the "mangiafagioles," or beaneaters). Bonus - you could make this dish every week for a year and not spend $5.00 - except maybe for the olive oil! I served this at a pot luck this weekend and everyone asked for the recipe. Let me know how you like it.

Soak beans in water overnight. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large soup pot, add bacon, carrot, onion. Saute until vegetables are limp but not brown. Add tomato, cook about ten minutes. Add beans, chicken broth, salt, sage and thyme, bring to a boil. Cover and bake in a 250 degree oven for 1-1/2 hrs, stirring from time to time, or until creamy and tender. Add more broth if mixture looks dry. Add salt and pepper to taste. Just before serving, stir in 3 cloves of garlic, chopped, and 1/2 cup chopped parsley.

Stir in up to 1/4 cup olive oil, if more richness is desired.

I minced the bacon, onions and carrots in the food processor - the mixture disappears into the beans as they cook. Following the Italian tradition, Alice Waters nestles the bean pot in the embers of the wood-fired pizza oven rather than baking them.

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