Spilling the Beans

It's harder and harder to come by fresh food so now is the time to count on beans. And why not? They're nutritious and delicious and of course sustainable. Good for you every which way. Plus you can buy them already cooked and canned so you can whip up something glamorous in no time at all. Sorry, not a lot of photos for this.

Beans and Romaine Lettuce
This is a very old Roman Jewish dish which combines protein and calorie laden beans with a light vegetable like lettuce.
serves 4-6
2 c  cooked cannellini or great northern beans, drained
2 heads Romaine lettuce
1/3 c olive oil
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1 tsp dried sage
1 tsp dried rosemary leaves
1 tsp dried oregano leaves
pinch crushed red pepper flakes
freshly ground black pepper to your taste
salt to your paste
1 tbsp flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 tbsp tomato paste

Wash lettuce thoroughly and dry. Shred it into thin strips.
Heat the olive oil in a large pot. Add garlic and sauté on med/low heat 2-3 minutes until it is golden. Add lettuce, sage. rosemary, oregano, crushed pepper flakes, salt and pepper and parsley.  Sauté on low heat 8-10 minutes to soften the lettuce. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring, 5 minutes. Add the beans. Cover the pot and reduce heat to simmer. Cook 15 minutes shaking the pot from time to time so nothing sticks. The final product should be thick and flavorful. If it looks too dry during cooking add a few tbsp water or veg broth.

Black-Eyed Peas with Sausage
Beans and greens with meat, all the food groups!
Serves 4

¼ cup olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 lg garlic clove, minced
1 med/lg carrot, peeled and diced
1 celery rib, cleaned and diced
1 cup tomatoes, chopped with their juice (canned or boxed is okay)
1 lb linguica or luganega or bratwurst, or other sweet sausage
1 cup dried black-eyed peas, soaked in boiling water for at least 1 hour
4 kale leaves, stems removed and leaves chopped
Salt and pepper to your taste
2 tbsp freshly chopped flat leaf parsley

Heat olive oil in a cast iron or enameled iron casserole. Add onion and sauté over medium low heat until onion is soft and golden. Add garlic and sauté 60 seconds. Add carrots and celery, blend well and cook about 5 minutes until soft. Add the tomatoes with all their juice, lower heat to simmer and cook very slowly for 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350º.
Puncture the sausage skins with a fork in several places. Then slice them into 1” pieces. Add to the pot and simmer for 10-12 minutes.
Drain and rinse the black-eyed peas. Add to the pot and blend. Add the chopped kale and blend. Add 2 cups liquid (broth and water or all water) to cover everything. Cover and bring to a steady simmer on the top of the stove. Then put in the center of the oven and cook at 350º for 90 minutes or until the black-eyed peas are tender. Check from time to time to be sure there is enough liquid. Add ¼ cup of warm water at a time if needed.

If there is fat from the sausages on top, tip the pot over the sink to remove it.
Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as you like it.
Stir in the chopped parsley to serve.

This can be made ahead and reheated in the oven at 250º or on top of the stove on simmer.
Serve with a fennel or citrus salad.

Palestinian Black-Eyed Peas with Chard and Lemon

not my photo

Here's a vegetarian version of beans and greens. 

Serves 4

For the beans

1 leek

1 tbsp olive oil

2 garlic cloves

¼ tsp chili powder or chopped dried chilli

2 cans black-eyed peas

pinch ground allspice

1 c veg broth

pinch of ground nutmeg

½ unwaxed lemon

½ lb bunch green or rainbow chard

For the herb smash

l 1g bunch fresh cilantro

2 green chilies

2 garlic cloves

¼ c shelled walnuts

1 tbsp honey or maple syrup 
2 tbsp good quality olive oil

 juice of 1/2 lemon

Put the veg broth in a pot and bring to a boil. Get all your ingredients together. Put a large saucepan on the stove.

Wash and finely slice the leek. Add to the saucepan with a tablespoon of olive oil and cook for a couple of minutes until soft and sweet. Finely slice the garlic and add with the chili powder or dried chili and cook 2-3 minutes, until the garlic begins to brown. Add black-eyed peas with their liquid, a pinch of allspice and the boiling veg broth. Bring to a simmer. Add nutmeg, squeeze in the juice of half the lemon, add the squeezed lemon half to the pan and lower heat to simmer. Cook 10 minutes. Meanwhile, strip the leaves from the chard stalks. Finely slice the stalks and add them to the pan, then finely shred the leaves and put to one side.

Put all the ingredients for the herb smash into a food processor and blitz until you have a smooth grassy paste. Season well with salt and pepper.

Once the black-eyed peas are soft and the liquid has reduced to a thick soup-like consistency, stir in the chard leaves, season well with salt and pepper and cook for 2-3 minutes. Scoop into deep bowls and spoon over the herb smash.

Macedonian Bean Soup

This is as colorful as it is flavorful. I can't find my photo but memory says the red and orange pepper stand out with the black olive
Serves 6
1 lb dried white beans (Great Northern, Kidney, navy, cannellini)
2 med/lg carrots, peeled and diced
2 stalks celery with leaves, diced
1 lg onion, peeled and diced
1/4 tsp freshly ground or cracked black pepper
1 tsp dried sage
3½ cups vegetable broth
3 red bell peppers, roasted and peeled
2 yellow or orange bell peppers, roasted and peeled
2 tbsp red wine vinegar (Balsamic is too strong)
5-6 tbsp olive oil
18-20 pitted Kalamata olives, slivered
Salt to your taste
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Pick over the beans. Soak in enough water to cover and refrigerate overnight.

Roast the peppers. Remove stems, skin membrane and seeds. Chop into small ¼” cubes. Combine peppers, vinegar and 1 tbsp olive oil in a glass or ceramic small bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Drain the beans. Put in a large pan, cover well with cold water and bring to a boil.
Boil for 5 minutes. Drain well.

In a large, heavy gauge pot, heat enough olive oil 4-5 tbsp to cover the bottom. Add carrots, celery, onion, black pepper and sage. Sauté on low heat for 2 minutes or until vegetables are soft. Stir in the beans. Add broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1½ hours until beans are tender.

Drain peppers. Add peppers and olives to the warm soup. Add salt to your taste and finally the lemon juice.
Serve immediately. Great with an arugula salad, crusty bread and soft cheese.

PInto Beans with Bacon, Chilies and Cilantro

not my photo

A different flavor group and coloring that begs to be served with corn tortillas, guacamole, fried plantains and sour cream for one fabulous goodbye to February meal.
serves 6
1 lb pinto beans
4 oz pork shoulder, cut into 1/2" cubes
8 thick slices bacon cut into 1/2" pices
1 med onion, diced
2 lg fresh poblano chilies, roasted and peeled, seeded and chopped
1 15 oz can tomatoes, chopped
2 tsp dried oregano
1/2-1 tsp chili powder, to your taste
Salt to your taste
1/2 c fresh cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped

Pick over the beans to be sure they're clean. Rinse and put in a large pot. Add 2 qts boiling water and soak one hour. (This is the fast track.) Drain.

Put the beans back in the pot with 2 fresh quarts water. Add pork and bring to a boil. Poartly cover the pot, reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally until beans are tender, 45-60 minutes. You'll have to check.

Meanwhile fry bacon over med/low heat until crisp. Remove from pan, Pour off all but 2 tbsp of the fat, Use that to sauté onion and chili over med heat until golden brown, about 8 min. Stir in tomatoes and cook until all liquid is gone.

Add the tomato mixture, bacon and spices to the bean pot. Add salt and simmer, stirring occasionally 20-30 min until everything is blended and hot. You can now puree 1 c of beans to make this thicker if you like. To serve stir in the chopped cilantro.

Puerto Rican Arroz Con Gandules (Pigeon Peas)

This is a tasty version of rice and beans using the round pigeon pea.

1 tbsp olive oil
¼ lb roasted pork, cubed
½ green bell pepper, chopped (about ½ cup)
½ yellow onion, chopped (about ½ cup)
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp ground annatto seed
3 garlic cloves, smashed and minced
2 tsp. finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp dried oregano
1½ c medium grain rice
1 can (15 oz.) green pigeon peas, aka gandules
4 oz. tomato sauce
¼ cup manzanilla olives stuffed with pimentos, sliced
1 12 c vegetable broth

Heat oil in a medium, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Add pork to pan; cook until brown, about 5 min. Stir in peppers and onions; cook, stirring occasionally, scraping up brown bits from bottom, until vegetables are soft and translucent, 10 min. Add coriander, annatto, garlic, cilantro and oregano. Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add rice to pan. Cook, stirring frequently, until coated in oil and toasted, maybe 1 min.
Stir in pigeon peas, tomato sauce, olives and veg broth. Stir once and bring rice mixture to a boil. Cook, uncovered, until liquid has evaporated, about 10 min. Gently stir rice from bottom up.

Cover pot. Lower heat to med/low and cook until rice is tender, about 15 min. Remove from heat. Gently fluff rice with fork. Let it stand covered 5 min before serving.