BEEN WEEK, DAY 4

Lest you think I’m only full of beans, I’d like to be sure you know I’m full of lentils too! I had a few other recipes I want to post but it seems there is a preponderance of white bean recipes in my repetoire right now. I tend to eat other beans as is. Well, so be it.

Lentils are a type of bean, but they are fast cooking and do not require soaking. This makes them perfect for any weeknight meal, no matter how last minute. On the other hand, they are so colorful and flavorful, you can make them for special meals and enjoy them just as much! Lentils come in nearly every color: red, green, brown, black, yellow, pink – who knows what other colors might be out there! There are more varieties of lentils in the world that we are likely to find in the US.

For this basic lentil dish, I use brown, green, or black lentils. These tend to be firmer and hold their cute little round shape through cooking. I love the yellows, pinks, and reds, but I like those more in creamy & smooth lentil dishes because they tend to melt themselves together on their own.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 c. brown, green, or black lentils (sorted to remove rocks and rinsed)
• 1 onion, quartered
• 2 cloves of garlic, smashed with peels removed
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 carrot, finely diced
• 1 celery rib, finely diced
• salt & pepper
• 2 T. extra virgin olive oil (opt.)
• red wine vinegar (opt.)
• chopped parsley (opt.)

1. Put the lentils in a soup pot, cover with 6 cups of water and bring to a boil.
2. When boiling add the onion, garlic, bay leaves, carrot, celery, and 1 1/2 t. of salt.
3. Lower the heat and simmer until tender but retaining their shape, about 25 minutes (though this may vary based on the type of lentils you use).
4. Strain and reserve the broth for another use (soup stock, rice, etc.). Remove the onion, bay leaves, and garlic (these can be removed when eating too if you don’t mind). Season with salt & pepper and enjoy!
5. If desired season with olive oil, a few drops of red wine vinegar, and parsley. I typically forgo this but it can make for a nice presentation.

Original source: Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison

BEEN WEEK, DAY3

I can barely say enough good things about this bean spread. It is amazing! The flavors are full and rich, but the spread is creamy and beautiful. Though it is lovely on a table full of appetizers, it would make an equally excellent side dish in lieu of mashed potatoes – people will wonder what you did to the potatoes! This recipe varies slightly from the general guidelines given in Beans 101, but I think you will find the results well worth the modifications.

This dip is fantastic with veggies such as celery & fennel, but is also delicious on warmed flat breads.

Ingredients:

• 1 c. dried navy beans or cannellini (white beans), soaked 4 hours (or overnight) and drained
• 5 garlic cloves, smashed & peeled
• 10 sage leaves
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 T. olive oil
• 1 whole head of garlic with outermost papery skin removed
• salt & pepper
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 T. chopped thyme

1. Bring the beans to a boil in a large pot with water covering the beans by at least 2 inches. Boil for 10 minutes.
2. Lower the heat and add the 5 cloves of garlic, sage leaves, bay leaves, and 2 T. of olive oil. Simmer, covered, until beans are tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove bay leaves and drain, reserving broth.
3. While the beans are cooking, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Rub the whole head of garlic with a bit of olive oil. Place it in a small baking dish, add about 1/3 c. water, cover and bake until soft and lightly caramelized, about 45 minutes. Cool the head of garlic then squeeze out the softened garlic.
4. Add the beans, caramelized garlic, the remaining 1 T. olive oil, and 1 t. salt, to a food processor. Add enough bean broth to give the beans a soft, spreadable consistency. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Stir in thyme leaves then serve.

Original source: Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison

BEEN WEEK, DAY 2

Let’s pretend that you don’t always want beans fresh out of the pot. Come on, I said PRETEND! Making a simple dressing for the beans – basically any beans – will make them Oscar Award ready. Really – could I make this up?!

The first step is to make a fresh pot of beans as described yesterday in Beans 101. Then you are set to fancifie your beans as follows, enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 recipe of Beans 101
• 1 large shallot finely diced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 3 T. extra virgin olive oil
• 2 T. chopped parsley
• salt & pepper
• lemon wedges

1. Place the warm beans (beans only, not broth) in a bowl. Add the shallot, garlic, olive oil, and parsley. Turn gently with a rubber spatula so as not to break the beans. Taste for seasoning and serve with lemon wedges if desired.

See that wasn’t too hard was it!?

BEEN WEEK, DAY 1

It might sound strange to admit, but I am a certified BA. That does not indicate that I have my Bachelor of Arts (which I do, in Mathematics) but rather that I am a BEAN ADDICT. It is true. Ever since discovering the wonders of Rancho Gordo* at the San Francisco Ferry Building Farmer’s Market, there has been no turning back. They focus on heirloom varieties of beans, and every pound you purchase is *perfect* – no stones, whole, beautiful beans! After exploring several of their varieties, I’ve also begun expanding my horizons and picking up beans at my local and favorite grocery. My bean collection is actually a bit larger than shown above – I suppose I need a few more jars!

The first varietal I tried from them is the Vaquero Bean. They are just amazing looking with their black and white markings. They hold these markings after cooking, though admittedly they do get a bit gray-ish as the bean broth turns black. Oddly they are not in the photo above, but I think that is because I ate them all. They continue to be one of my all time favorites! This picture to the right is courtesy Rancho Gordo but it is better than any I could locate in my archives. These beans have a very full flavor and let’s be honest, they just look cool!

Moving on, another all time favorite of mine is the Yellow Indian Woman Bean which people constantly question me about. Hey folks, I didn’t name them! They are shown here with a butternut squash farro dish and grilled okra -oh the joy of grilled okra, but that is a whole other post! These Yellow Indian Woman beans have the most luxurious flavor and can match up with nearly any veggie extremely well.

Here is a beautiful white bean dish I made in the past. This cannot be replicated with canned beans. Believe me though – it is worth the effort. Actually I think you will find that all dried beans are worth the effort once you try them. The flavors are so full and amazing. We often eat meals with the beans as the main – as shown with the Yellow Indian Woman Beans. When you have beans that full of flavor – you don’t need the meat, I promise!

Hopefully by now I’ve at least tempted you with the joy of dried & heirloom beans! If so, then you are ready for the basic cooking method I follow with nearly all dried beans. You cannot go wrong with this incredibly simple recipe! Though you do need to plan ahead, the beans cook themselves. You just need to soak the beans first – that is the planning step. Here are a few key “tricks” to cooking beans:

1. Soak the beans for about 4-8 hours (or overnight), until beans are about double in volume. Soaking will help dried beans cook more quickly, but it is also rumored to help digestion (because it removes a portion of the complex sugars that cause indigestion). When you are ready to cook, skim off any floating beans (indicating they are immature) then drain and cook in fresh water. (If you are short on time you can “quick soak” the beans. Place them in a pot, cover with a few inches of water then bring to a boil for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover the pot and allow the beans to soak for 1-2 hours. Drain and proceed as usual.)
2. Never add salt to the pot of beans or aromatics until the beans are nearly finished cooking. Adding salt at the beginning or cooking beans in salted water can toughen them. Who wants tough beans!?
3. Always sort through your beans before soaking to remove any stones or dirt. Simply place them on a baking sheet before soaking to sort them.

All right, ready to cook some beans!? Let’s go!

Ingredients:

• 1 c. of beans, cleaned, sorted, and soaked as above
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 small onion, finely diced, or can be quartered if you prefer to remove after cooking
• 1/2 – 1 carrot, finely diced (optional – and can be left in larger chunks if you prefer to remove)
• 1 celery stalk, finely diced (optional – and can be left in larger chunks if you prefer to remove)
• 1 large garlic clove, crushed with peel removed (optional)
• 1 t. olive oil

1. In a medium pot sauté the onion over medium until it begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the carrot, celery, and garlic if using and continue to cook until the onion develops nice brown color, about 5 more minutes.
2. Drain the beans, add to the pot, then cover with 6c. fresh water. Raise the heat to high and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes then lower heat to a simmer. You can partially cover while they simmer. The slower & lower they cook, the nicer your beans will typically be – more whole beans with no broken skins!
3. Depending on the type of bean you are using, they will cook between 30 minutes and an hour. Start tasting them around 30 minutes, cooking until they are tender. Add about 1 1/2 t. of salt when your beans are just nearly finished – usually about 5 minutes before removing from the heat.
4. Serve beans and enjoy! See – that was fun wasn’t it?!

*Note: you can also order online from Rancho Gordo, but sorry friends, it is US only right now.