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Introduction

When I worked at a Belgian startup, at least once every six months I’d fly to Europe for a “work week.” The name always bothered me—what were we supposed to call every other Monday through Friday? In any case, “work weeks” were great: they were a week of full of collaborating, ideating, strategizing. I got to bond (read: drink) with coworkers, and I traveled all over Europe for free.

Most of my adult life I have been fully addicted to coffee. My coffee preferences have matured over the years—and gotten more expensive—from Dunkin Donuts to Devoción, my current favorite. In college, the seasons created natural caffeine ebbs and flows: my coffee intake would slowly ramp up as the semester wore on, then spike drastically during finals week, and then drop to near zero during the breaks. And the cycle would repeat.

As an adult, there are no such guardrails. I remember one Saturday, after walking around SoHo all day, I couldn’t get energized to go out and meet my friends for dinner and drinks. At that point in the day, I realized I had consumed seven espressos, and I was feeling totally exhausted.

When you’re traveling to Europe, you know you’re going to want to fight the jet lag at some point. You’ll want to be prepared. Over the years, I’ve developed the following playbook: I present, a coffee strategy for international travel.

1. The first thing you’re going to want to do is to cut back. I’d recommend going cold turkey for the week leading up to your trip. Expect headaches, as your body grapples with the physical effects of your chemical dependency. I often find myself craving coffee at random times: someone buys a gas station coffee in a movie, and I start thinking about coffee, even late at night… More recently, I have become weak minded, so leading up to some trips I allow myself a single caffeinated beverage per day.
2. Hold out as long as possible. Layover? No need for a coffee yet.
3. Once you arrive, it’s time for The Trifecta. This is the most important part. Stop at a little cafe, ideally one with the chairs outside facing the street, and order one espresso, one beer, and one sparkling water. This effervescent trio is the most beautiful way to announce that you’ve arrived.
4. Do not take a nap. Embrace the brain drain. It might be hard for a day, but it pays dividends later in the week. I think there’s something beautiful about the strange delirium. I remember sitting at a fondue restaurant with my friend Michael in one of these moments. We just stared at each other, unable to form enough consecutive thoughts to carry a conversation, while a vat of cheese bubbled between us.

Ingredients

Now, from one bean routine to another—for these savory braised beans, you’ll need:

• 4 cans of white beans (great northern or cannellini). I’ve always gotten the best texture from the canned beans rather than buying them dry and rehydrating them myself.
• 3-4 yellow onions
• Two bulbs of fennel
• 1-2 bunches of Swiss or rainbow chard. Can use kale instead.
• 4-6 cloves garlic
• Rosemary
• Thyme
• Crushed red pepper flakes
• Butter
• Lemon
• Shaved Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese
• Fresh bread

Instructions

1. Dice equal parts onion and fennel.
2. Fully cover bottom of dutch oven in olive oil. Sauté onion and fennel.
3. Smash and dice garlic. Remove stems from rosemary and thyme, then finely dice the leaves. You’ll want equal parts rosemary and thyme, several tablespoons of each.
4. When the onion and fennel just starts to turn clear, add garlic, rosemary, thyme. Season with black pepper, crushed red pepper, and salt. Really go to town with the herbs. Remember, this is the most potent it will be; you will dilute this mixture with broth and beans soon.
5. Sauté for a few minutes more. You want the onions and fennel to be a bit firmer than how you’d like them in the finished product.
6. Add the canned beans, liquid and all. Stir. Mash up to a quarter of the beans against the side of the pot to thicken the stew. If it’s already a bit thick, add vegetable broth. You do want a little bit of extra liquid at this point.
7. Add a few generous tablespoons of butter. If available, add a Parmesan rind. It’s always in good taste to keep a few spent rinds lying around in your freezer.
8. Wash your greens. Remove stems and rip into medium-large pieces. If using chard, dice the stems and save for later.
9. When the beans cook down and the consistency is thick like a chili, add the greens and stir.
10. Preheat the oven to 350° and add your loaf of bread. By the time the oven reaches 350°, the bread will be perfectly warmed.
11. Cook until the greens are just wilted - it won’t take long.
12. If using chard, add some of the stems for added crunch.
    1. Note: if using rainbow chard, be aware that the stems will bleed red juice into the sauce and turn the leftovers a sickly gray color. Not recommended.
13. Once the greens have wilted, remove from heat and dowse with lemon juice. Use 1/2 to a whole squeezed lemon.
14. Serve with crusty bread, a wedge of lemon, and shaved cheese.

Inspired by Lidey Heuck’s ‘Braised White Beans’, which in turn was inspired by Italian-style sautéed puntarelle.