White bean and chard soup

Perhaps this is not the most summery dish, but an excellent way to use up a head of beautiful red chard, nonetheless. (Plus a lot of homemade broth.)

1 bag white beans, pre-soaked and drained
1 onion, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
3 stalks of celery, chopped
olive oil
1 head of chard (or other leafy green), destemmed and chopped
Seasonings: salt, pepper, red chili flakes, cumin, parsley, Italian seasoning
broth

Saute the onion, carrots and celery in olive oil until soft. Add the beans and enough broth to float it all; simmer covered on low until the beans are tender. Add chard and seasonings to taste. Simmer another five minutes and serve, possibly with parmesan sprinkled on top.

Turkey and black bean enchiladas

What to do with a package of ground turkey? ($2.99, on sale!)

I considered turkey burgers, but didn't have any burger buns. Then I thought about turkey meatloaf, but I wasn't feeling it. So I decided to go for turkey and black bean enchiladas.

From skinnytaste.com:

1 lb ground turkey
15.5 can black beans, drained
4.5 oz can chopped green chiles (I used two fresh jalapenos, chopped)
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1-2 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp chili powder
salt
8 flour tortillas
1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese

For the Enchilada Sauce:
2 garlic cloves, minced
1-2 tbsp chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
1-1/2 cups tomato sauce
1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
3/4 cup chicken broth
kosher salt and fresh pepper to taste

In a medium saucepan, sauté garlic. Add chiles, chili powder, cumin, chicken broth, tomato sauce, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Set aside until ready to use.

In a large skillet brown the turkey and season with salt. When the turkey is browned,  add onion, garlic, black beans, cilantro, green chiles, diced tomatoes, cumin and chili powder. Mix well and simmer on low, covered for 20 minutes. Remove lid and simmer an additional 5-10 minutes to reduce the liquid.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put 1/2 cup turkey mixture into each tortilla and roll it. Place on 9x13 glass baking dish seam side down. Top with enchilada sauce and cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in the oven on the middle rack for 20-25 minutes. Top with low fat sour cream, cilantro or scallions if you wish.

Quinoa and white bean salad

Another one of those cold salads that can be made ahead, and eaten either cold or at room temperature. (Also good as a wrap filling.)

Reprinted below:

1 cup quinoa
2 cups cooked white beans of your choice or 1 14 oz can butter beans or cannellini beans, drained of all liquid
½ lb green beans
1 red bell pepper, diced
½ small red onion, finely diced
2-3 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
3 Tbsp good extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper


Place quinoa in a medium sauce pot with 2 cups water and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, cover and cook about 10 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed. Fluff with a fork and set aside to cool (You will want to assemble the salad when quinoa is still warm, but not hot). In a large pot of boiling salted water, blanch the green beans for about 5 minutes (they should be cooked, but still crisp), then transfer them to an ice water bath. When cool, drain them and cut into 1 inch batons. In a large mixing bowl combine the quinoa, drained white beans of your choice, green beans, diced onion, diced pepper, lemon zest and juice, vinegar, and olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper and garnish with chopped parsley.

Lemony white bean and arugula salad

Summer has finally arrived here in the Pacific Northwest. Temperatures are expected to be in the high 80s for the next few days. It's sunny and bright, and we're planning to finally drive to Mt. Rainier tomorrow.

However, working in un-air-conditioned restaurants when it's 85 degrees outside is no fun. I had to scamper out to Costco yesterday to buy up some fans for the apartment, and some Gatorade for myself. Today I'll need to cook a bunch of food for the week ahead, but who wants to cook when it's so hot?

So instead, I'm making a bunch of cold dishes. Bean salads, corn salads, pasta salads. First up: this lemony and delicious cold white bean salad, reprinted below:

Salad:
5 packed cups (5 ounces) arugula (I used mixed greens, that's all I had)
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini or great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced (I used a shallot)
3 tablespoons capers, rinsed and drained

Dressing:
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 1 large lemon)
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon lemon zest
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions

Salad: In a large salad bowl, combine the arugula, beans, red onion, and capers.

Dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, maple syrup and lemon zest. Slowly whisk in the oil until smooth and combined. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Pour the dressing over the salad and toss well to coat. Serve.

Succotash with ramps

Succotash (traditionally a mixture of lima beans, corn, possibly black-eyed peas, and bacon) can be a meal in itself, especially with the bacon. I like it because it doesn't require any fresh ingredients: you can pull a bag of frozen lima beans and a bag of frozen corn out of your freezer and have something delicious to eat 20 minutes later.

I've made this succotash before, but this one had a bunch of fresh ramps added in--greens and all. The ramps gave it a great green-oniony element. Season liberally with salt and pepper.

Black bean and andouille sausage soup

Since I'm now working four doubles in a row each week (16-hour days Tuesday through Friday), naturally it's become imperative to do a bunch of cooking on my two days off. I started this week's lineup with an easy soup, using up a bag of dried beans and some leftover sausage.

1 bag of dried black beans, soaked overnight and pre-cooked in a CrockPot
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 red pepper (or green), chopped
1 package andouille sausage, sliced
2 cups tomato sauce, or one can diced tomatoes
1 1/2 quarts broth
Seasonings to taste: salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, paprika, cayenne

In a big soup pot, add some olive oil (or bacon fat) over medium-high heat. Saute the onion, carrot, and celery until the onion is soft. Add the pepper and the sausage and saute for another couple of minutes. Add the beans, the tomatoes, and enough broth to float everything. Let cook down on medium-low heat, covered, until everything is cooked through. (If the beans are pre-cooked, 20-30 minutes; if not, 1-2 hours.) Season to taste and allow to simmer another five minutes or so.

Note: it would be very easy to add, say, a bag of frozen corn into this soup.

Red wine and bacon pinto beans

So far this month I've spent a little over $100 on food. Not bad when you consider that I spent way, way more than that last month (start-up pantry costs).

My stepson is coming to visit next week, and I know I'll need to get some groceries for his visit. I'm trying to put off that trip to the store until at least the weekend. My fridge is getting a little bare, but it's nothing I can't handle for a few more days.

So, yesterday's challenge: find something fun to do with that last bag of dried beans. In this case, pinto beans.

I got this recipe from the New York Times. Added bonus: it used up the rest of that bottle of terrible Rioja I had. Sometimes a wine is just so bad you have to save it for cooking, you know?

This isn't quite a stew. It's more like slightly wet beans.

1/2 pound smoky bacon, diced
1 large onion, peeled and diced
2 celery stalks, diced
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 large sprigs rosemary
1 pound dried pinto beans, soaked overnight
1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt, more to taste
2 cups dry red wine
Extra-virgin olive oil, for serving (optional)
Coarsely grated Parmesan, for serving (optional)
Coarsely ground black pepper or red pepper flakes, for serving (optional)

In the bottom of a large pot over medium-high heat, brown bacon until golden, about 5 minutes. Stir in onion, celery, carrots, garlic and rosemary. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain beans and add to pot along with 1 tablespoon salt. Pour in enough water to just cover the beans (about 7 to 8 cups). Bring liquid to a boil; reduce heat and simmer gently until beans are just tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Meanwhile, in a small pot over medium heat, simmer wine until it is reduced to 2/3 cup, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove rosemary branches from bean pot and discard them. Pour wine into beans and bring to a simmer. Cook for 10 to 20 minutes longer to meld flavors and thicken broth to taste. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with Parmesan, if desired; add more salt and black or red pepper to taste.

"Soup greens"

I went to the grocery store yesterday to pick up a couple of things and discovered a new grocery store creation: "soup greens."

This is a store-made package of various (old) produce that could go into a pot of soup, all of which I'm assuming are too old/blemished to sell individually. Because I went in for a couple of things to throw into a pot of soup, I grabbed one.

For $2.99, I got two carrots, half a stalk of celery, one-quarter of a leek, a turnip, an onion, most of a big parsnip, and some parsley and dill.

Not the greatest quality, but perfectly acceptable for a pot of soup. I added a can of red beans, a handful of wheatberries, half a bag of frozen spinach, and broth.

Then I made a big batch of garlic bread with a free loaf of ciabatta from work.

Roasted eggplant and white bean soup with gruyere sausage

Not much left in the ol' cabinets. But I do have some nice sausages, bought on sale. I'm making a roasted eggplant and white bean soup, with some gruyere and roasted garlic chicken sausage added in.

I used this recipe as a starting point, without the fresh herbs or the onion, and all broth instead of broth and water. I'm out of onions, so I'll use half a head of garlic instead (at which point I'll be out of garlic, too). I'm also adding in a red pepper, and of course the package of sausage. I also won't blend it, since my blending equipment is all packed.

Red beans and grits

Like red beans and rice, only with grits instead of rice. Why? Because I don't have enough rice left for a sufficient batch. So I'm using grits instead (regular grits, not cheese grits).

Black bean soup with sausage and chard

It's that time of year again: the leaves are changing color, it's cold outside, and I just want to eat soup all the time. Are you like that, too? This is today's concoction: black beans, Italian sausage, and chard.

1 bag of dried black beans, soaked and pre-cooked
1 large onion, diced
5-6 cloves of garlic, minced
4 links sweet Italian sausage
1 head Swiss chard, stems removed, chopped
Broth
Seasonings: cumin, chili powder, oregano, bay leaf, salt and pepper
Optional: 1 jalapeno

Squeeze the sausage meat out of the casings into a large stockpot with some olive oil. Brown gently, then add the onion and garlic (and jalapeno, if using). Saute until softened. Add the beans and enough broth to float the mixture.

Cook on low for an hour or so, or until the beans are cooked through. Add the seasonings and chard, and cook until the chard is just wilted. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a sprinkle of fresh cilantro.

Barley succotash

Succotash is sort of a catch-all term, but to me, it means lima beans, corn, and bacon together in some combination. Like here. I made this succotash with cooked pearled barley, and the result was really delicious. Also filling. And used up the rest of my barley supply. So it was a win all the way around.

Spicy tomato hummus

Another pool party hit, and perfect with veggie sticks.

This hummus, with a teaspoon of cayenne pepper and 6-8 canned tomatoes added. Puree and adjust seasonings.

Black bean dip

I'm going to a pool party today with some very old and dear friends from college. I'm taking this, with some chips.

2 can black beans (or the equivalent amount of dried beans, soaked and cooked)
1 tomato
2 tablespoons minced onion
2 garlic cloves, peeled
juice of 1 lime
1 jalapeno, chopped
1/2 teaspoon each cumin, chili powder, and oregano
cilantro
salt and pepper

Puree everything together in your food processor, and adjust the seasonings.

Four bean and bacon ragout with green pepper puree and poached egg

This is a less-fancy copy of something we've been serving at the restaurant lately. As you might imagine, it is very delicious, even in the less-fancy version.

I used a combination of four different kinds of dried beans: garbanzo, red kidney, black, and pinto. I soaked them for a day, then threw them into the CrockPot with water and pork broth until they were cooked through.

I then fried up some bacon, and mixed that with the cooked beans. I added salt and pepper to taste.

I cut up two bell peppers, steamed them in a pan with a little chicken broth, then dumped all that into the food processor and pureed it.

To serve, put some green pepper puree in the bottom of a bowl, and top that with bean and bacon ragout. Add a poached egg on top, and more salt and pepper to taste.

It's the most exciting thing I've done with beans in a while.

Green bean salad with dried cranberries and almonds

Or you could try this green bean salad with sesame dressing.

1/2 pound green beans, cooked and cooled
1/4 cup dried cranberries
about a handful of sliced almonds
2 tbsp cold lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Whisk the liquids together. Drizzle over the green beans, add the cranberries and almonds, and mix well. Serve at room temperature.

Pasta salad with crab, corn and fava beans

Remember the pasta salad with feta and fava beans from the other day?

I suddenly realized it could be so much more awesome.

I had some crabmeat from the restaurant that needed to be used up; I thought about making crab cakes, but I'd used all my eggs in the crustless mushroom quiche. So I combined the already-made pasta salad into a new, bigger, more awesome version of pasta salad:

Penne, with crab, corn, feta, and fava beans, along with olive oil, tarragon vinegar, and seasonings.

As a bonus, I used up all the crab, corn, feta, and fava beans.

Pasta salad with fava beans

I used this recipe from Saveur, without the tomatoes. I also used regular feta, distributed throughout, rather than the whipped feta.

On another note: I'll be really glad when it's fresh tomato season again.

Fava beans

Fava beans, along with rhubarb, fiddlehead ferns, ramps, soft-shell crabs, and morels, are one of the great harbingers of spring. They look like big lima beans.

I got a big container of cleaned, uncooked fava beans from work, so I cooked them down.

In a saucepan, warm a little olive oil. Add half an onion, chopped very small, and a tablespoon of fresh chopped parsley. When the onion is soft, add the fava beans (I used about 3 cups of shelled beans), 1/2 cup chicken stock, and salt and pepper.

Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer 10 - 20 minutes. The favas are done when they're soft, and when most of the liquid has evaporated.

White bean breakfast hash

Fun ways to use leftover beans!

I used this recipe as a starting point. I sauteed the (already cooked) beans in bacon fat and added already-caramelized onions.

2 cups canned or pre-cooked white beans
Bacon fat
1 sliced onion, cooked for a long time in a little bacon fat over low heat until sweet and dark brown
2 eggs

Caramelize the onion by cooking it down, slowly and over low heat, in a little bacon fat. When the onions are soft and dark brown, turn the heat up, add more bacon fat, and add the beans. Cook for another couple of minutes, long enough to heat the beans through and coat them with bacon-y flavor.

At this point you can fry the two eggs separately, or make a hole in the middle of the hash and cook the eggs in the same pan. I like to fry mine separately and add them on top, then break them open and get the yolk all mixed in with everything.