Beans!

Beans!

Beans, Beans, they’re good for… everything! Especially good for a quick and easy weeknight dinner. Even better if you’re looking for cost effective ways to get delicious and filling calories, with a helluva lotta protein. Tonight, I’m making a stew-ey soupy delicious winter meal that uses these advantages to their fullest. While starting with dry beans is definitely going to yield a better result, and more control over the final product (salt level and texture), canned beans have their distinct advantages: cost, and time effectiveness. This recipe consists of six (6!) ingredients outside of pantry staples, makes at least 3 servings, and costs around $10-12, depending on where you are. 

THE INGREDIENTS: 

1. 3 cans of beans. I’m using Roman Beans, White Beans, and Black Eyed Peas, but you can definitely just use one kind. I like a little variety in texture and color, but it’s definitely unnecessary.  

2. About half a pound of mushrooms. I’m using oyster mushrooms because I’m absolutely blessed to have a grocer near my office that sells them relatively cheap ($9/pound). Again, not super necessary, but I believe pretty strongly that the more you pay for mushrooms, the better they are and the happier you’ll be with the end product.

3. 1 shallot

4. 4 cloves of garlic (I’m definitely gonna use an entire head but I won’t tell you how to live your life)

5. 1 bunch of leafy green herbs. I grabbed flat leaf parsley tonight, but dill works great too

6. Chicken stock, better than bouillon, vegetable stock, or just water!

THE METHOD:

1. Prep all vegetables. Dice shallot and chop mushrooms, mix them together in the same bowl. 

2. Crush and chop garlic to your desired size. I’m going to keep mine a bit larger so that it doesn’t burn.

3. Pour canned beans into a colander, and rinse. Keep the cans if you want an easy way to measure water or stock.

4. Trim the bottom stems of your herbs. Finely chop the rest of the stems, and about half of the herbs themselves, reserving in a bowl.

5. Heat a medium sized pot over medium-high heat, with about a tablespoon of olive oil. 

6. Once preheated, add shallot and mushrooms to the pan. Season with a small pinch of salt to help the mushroom release its moisture 

7. Once the mushrooms have released all of their liquid (about 5-7 minutes), and the shallot is translucent, add garlic. Cook until garlic is soft and fragrant, and mushrooms have picked up some color, about 2 minutes. 

8. Add chopped herbs, and allow to cook about 30 seconds, until lightly fragrant and awake. 

9. Add beans, and stir with a spatula until all ingredients are evenly distributed. Add two cans worth of liquid (water, stock, or water + a nice tablespoon of bouillon)

10. Allow to stew about 20-25 minutes

11. When you are a few minutes from the beans being done, finely chop the rest of your herbs.

12. Once 25 minutes has elapsed, remove from the heat, and fold in half of your chopped herbs. Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper as needed. Mix, and allow to cool for a few minutes. 

13. Serve, garnish with reserved herbs, and enjoy!

OPTIONAL ADD INS: 

Red wine vinegar (or another vinegar of your choosing), Parmesan Cheese, Chile Flakes or Chile Oil, a squeeze of lemon

THE LONG LINE: All in all, this recipe really doesn’t take too long once you get going. Start by prepping out all of the vegetables–dicing the shallot, crushing and chopping the garlic, and chopping the mushrooms. If you want your mushrooms to mimic the texture of, say, little slivers of bacon, leave them a bit larger so they have larger flat surfaces to pick up color. (PRO TIP: when prepping vegetables, always keep a few bowls with you. 1 for any compost, discard, roots, etc., and then however many more bowls you need for the number of stages you’ll add your vegetables in. I know that’s a bit confusing, and feels unnecessary, but the cleaner and more organized you work, the easier cooking becomes. For this recipe, I’m going to put my shallots and mushrooms in one bowl, my garlic in another, and my parsley in a third.) I’m going to be cutting them smaller so that they cook faster, and impart more of that earthy, slightly funky flavor. You’ll also want to rinse and drain your beans. De-can them, and rinse them in a colander. If you don’t have stock and are using some sort of bouillon, I’d suggest rinsing out the bean cans, and mixing your water with your concentrate in there. Save yourself the bowl. You’re also going to want to cut the stems off of your herbs here, and chop about half of the bunch’s worth of herbs pretty finely. We’re going to save the other half and fold them in when we’re done cooking, but wait to chop those. Herbs start to lose their pop as soon as you cut them, so we want to keep those whole as long as possible. Once all of your prep is done (should take 5-15 minutes depending on how quickly you move), bring a medium-sized pot to the stove, over medium-high heat. Add about a tablespoon of olive oil, and let that preheat until just beginning to shimmer. Throw in your shallot and mushrooms, and sweat. The mushrooms will start to release their liquid, slowing down the cooking process. Once the shallots are translucent and the mushrooms seem to have released all of their liquid (about 5-7 minutes), throw in your garlic. Allow that to cook until extremely fragrant. Once the mushrooms have picked up some color, throw in your chopped parsley (stems and all), and quickly saute to wake it up just a bit. After ~30 seconds, you can add all of your beans, along with two cans worth of water or stock, and a heaping teaspoon of bouillon (if desired and using water–just be mindful of the amount of salt). After that, your work is more or less done! We’ll let that cook for about 20/25 minutes until the beans have had a chance to warm all the way through, and release some of their natural starches, which will thicken up our stewing liquid. When you’re about 3 minutes from your beans being done, chop up as much of your herbs as you’d like to garnish. Remove from the heat, and mix about half into the pot, and taste for seasoning, adjusting with salt, pepper, and any vinegar you might have as needed (the vinegar isn’t necessary, but I find that this can actually get pretty decadent rather quickly, so a nice pop of acidity is really welcome). Allow to cool for a few minutes, and scoop yourself a heaping helping of beans. Garnish with herbs, a drizzle of olive oil, and a drizzle of vinegar (again, if desired). Tuck in, and don’t blame me when this becomes a go-to winter staple!