White Beans and Tomatoes

 

Fresh Tomatoes

This is one of those super fast and super simple meals from La Povera Cucina (The poor kitchen) that will blow your mind at just how good it is!  We eat this when I don't want to cook but want something that feels like a homecooked meal.

Ingredients

Cannellini Beans 1 can rinsed/drained or 2 cups (canned or precooked)

*1& 1/2 pounds fresh small-ish tomatoes (small plum, cherry, sweetie, gold nugget, grape etc..) ~OR~1 cup prepared tomato sauce 

fresh basil 

olive oil

salt & pepper

*For Fresh Tomato Recipe:1 garlic clove minced and 1/4 cup white wine

 White Cheese to serve on top (Parmesan, Feta, Burrata, Gorgonzola ,Fontina, etc...)

Day Old Bread

Fresh tomatoes: Heat olive oil in skillet add garlic and soften on medium low heat (don't burn or brown), as soon as it softens add wine cook 1 minute then add tomatoes and bring to a low simmer, cover and allow to cook down a few minutes. Once they are cooked down and very soft use a potato or meat masher to mash tomatoes. Cook a few minutes without the lid. You can remove any skins that are not attached to tomatoes using a tong if you like but this step is not necessary. Add beans salt and pepper to taste and cook for a few more minutes. 

Directions

Remove from heat add chopped basil & cheese. Stir to melt in.

Serve over toasted Italian Bread that was rubbed with garlic, salted and drizzled with olive oil yummy!

Tomato Sauce: Heat a little olive oil with sauce, then add beans and cook on low simmer for a few minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Remove from heat add chopped basil & cheese. Stir to melt in.

Serve with day old bread broken up and incorporated into the dish OR over toasted Italian Bread that was rubbed with garlic, salted and drizzled with olive oil yummy!

Minestrone (The Big Soup)

I just love how Italians give such playful names to their foods  like Angel Hair Pasta, Priest Strangler, Pick Me Up, Little Ears, and The Big Soup as in the meaning behind Minestrone. It is named so because of its many ingredients. This famous soup is originally from  Liguria in north/western Italy although most regions of Italy have their own vegetable soup which they call a minestrone.  Minestrone is even better the next day so go ahead and make a double batch for dinner and lunch the next day. Or, make this soup for your family and anyone you know who is sick or going through a rough patch along with some good bread. Minestrone is perfect for this because it's healthy, hearty, and easily transportable. If you decide to do this just make sure to not add the pasta but rather place it in a separate container for them to add themselves.
Ingredients
1 cup mushrooms wiped and chopped into bite size pieces
2 TBL. Olive oil & 2 TBL. Butter
Salt & black pepper
Italian seasonings
Red pepper flakes
1 onion chopped
2 carrots peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 bunch greens chopped: swiss chard, spinach, kale, etc….)
2 TBL. fresh parsley & basil chopped to add at end
3 small boiling potatoes peeled and chopped OR 1 large sweet potato peeled and chopped
4 tomatoes (fresh or canned) chopped
2 cups cooked and drained pasta about the size of the beans(wheels, shells, elbow, ditalini, broken spaghetti)
2 cups cooked and drained or canned/drained red beans or  white beans
* OPTIONAL 1 piece Parmigiano- Reggiano cheese rind (either save this from your cheese wedge in the freezer or you can purchase it from your deli)
Grated Parmigiano cheese and a hearty bread for serving at the table
*Optional: serve with pesto
Directions
Cook the pasta, drain, and set aside.
In a large heavy bottomed pot melt the oil & butter and sauté carrots, onions, garlic, celery, and a large pinch of salt  (This is known as a Soffritto) until tender (10 minutes)over medium heat
Add mushrooms, potatoes, beans, tomatoes, greens (chopped), parsley, seasonings, another inch of salt and black pepper, and  saute for a few minutes (10) until the greens are wilted.
Add wine, turn up the heat,  and cook out alcohol for a 2 minutes
Add the broth, and enough water to cover by 1 inch, cheese rind, and bring to a low simmer, lower heat to maintain this low simmer and cook uncovered until thick about 1 1/2 hours: adding more water if it becomes too thick

You may now turn it off, cover, and set aside until 20 minutes before serving. Then return to a low simmer just before serving.
Remove the cheese rind or chop it up into little pieces and add back to the soup.
Add the parsley and basil.
Add the cooked pasta to each bowl and then ladle the soup on top OR if you plan to eat the whole pot at one sitting add the cooked pasta directly to the soup.
Serve with bread,  Parmesan cheese and pesto if you like!

Lentil Soup

Lentil Soup
We lived on this when Chris was in Graduate school. Now we have it once a week and I usually serve it with a hearty Italian bread. This would be considered an Italian Jewish recipe. I have come to believe that wherever Jews have settled they have created a rich and diverse menu in order to meet the needs of their religious holidays.
Ingredients
1 bag lentils
1 large onion
3 garlic cloves crushed & minced
3 celery ribs sliced or diced
2 carrots sliced or diced
1 potato peeled and diced
olive oil
1/3 cup white or red wine
salt & pepper
1 can (28-32 oz.) of crushed tomatoes OR better yet some left over tomato sauce!
parsley
bay leaf
red pepper flakes
Directions
sauté the onion, celery, potato, and carrot in oil until soft
add garlic and sauté (this is known as a Soffritto)
Add wine and cook off for 2-3 minutes
add lentils and enough water to cover by a few inches
add salt and pepper, bay leaf, red pepper, and parsley
cover and simmer for an hour (until beans are cooked)
Add tomatoes and cook on low as long as you like!

NOTES & TIPS:
This can be as thick like a stew or thin like a soup as you like simply by adjusting the amount of water.
After sautéing veggies add to crock pot along with water and tomatoes and cook on low all day for a thick stew!
Use left over spaghetti sauce instead of tomatoes
Use Italian seasoning instead of parsley
Use Herbs Provence instead of parsley and add some leeks to the veggie mix

White Bean Dip

This is the Mediterranean's answer to Mexico's Black Bean dip!
Ingredients
2 cups dried white beans (or 15 ounce canned beans)
1 bay leaf
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice plus the zest of the lemon
1/3 cup olive oil, plus 4 tablespoons
1 few sprigs fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dry
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Sort and rinse the beans and cook them using the quick soak method:
Quick Soak Method:
use twice the amount of cooking water specified in the recipe below (12 cups water per 2 pounds beans or about 2 inches above bean level). Combine the water and rinsed beans in the pot and bring to a boil. Some cooks like to bring the water to a boil first, then drop in the beans a few at a time so the boiling doesn’t stop. Either method will cook the beans satisfactorily. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to maintain a simmer. The beans rehydrate while cooking so you will have to watch them carefully and add more water whenever necessary to keep them covered.
Cooking time for unsoaked beans can vary up to 2 hours. Most beans will be tender in 2 to 3 hours.
Cooking The Soaked Beans:
Place the drained beans into a large pot or Dutch oven and cover with 6 cups fresh water for each pound (2 cups) of beans, or to about one inch above the beans.
Add 1 to 2 Tablespoons oil (to prevent boiling over) and a bay leaf but no salt!
Boil gently with lid tilted until tender when taste tasted, 1-1/2 to 2 hours. Add hot water as needed to keep beans just covered with liquid. The best rule is to test frequently during cooking, then come to your own decision when beans are tender and taste "done".
Making the dip: Add the beans, garlic, lemon zest &  juice, and olive oil  in the work bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is coarsely chopped. -OR- Mix in a blender. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer the bean puree to a small bowl and drizzle more oil and the chopped herbs on top. Serve with pita wedges, veggy slices, or crispy bread slices.

Refried Beans

 We eat these tasty and economical beans atleast once a week either like a burrito in a wrap or scoop it up like a dip with tortilla chips.

Ingredients
1 pound bag dry pinto beans
Latin Sofrito
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper to taste
Crystals hot sauce
Directions
Quick soak (Bring to boil, turn off heat, cover for 1 hour) beans and rinse off. Now cook covered by 1 inch of water, covered, at a slow steady simmer for 1-11/2 hours or until soft.
In a large pot heat oil and butter and saute the Sofrito and cumin along with a good pinch of salt & pepper. Once it is soft add several squirts of hot sauce and scrape up the bottom of the pan with the juice of the hot sauce. Add  the beans  along with some water, start with 1/2 cup, and take a potato masher and mash! If it is too dry add some more water. Taste for salt. Keep on low and serve straight from the crock pot adding more water if it dries out.


Serve on tortilla wraps or with tortilla chips. Along with grated pepper jack cheese, sour cream, tomatoes/salsa, chopped green onions, guacamole, basically what ever you like! I make a buffet of the beans and all the fixings and allow each person to build there own.