Beans, Greens, and Grains--The Olympic Version

After the past few unsucessful meals, I had the need to cook something comforting and known to me to be good for this evening. For a few days now, I planned to sit back, relax and enjoy the pagentry of the opening ceremonies of the Jeux Olympiques d'hiver in Vancouver and needed a simple unfussy meal that calls for being a couch potato.  No potatoes tonight, but  I did prepare the most delicious pot of beans I have ever cooked!  As JD and I were supping and exclaiming over this pot of beans, you would have thought that we had dined on ambrosia, the food of the gods, or, as in times past, a cassoulet made with duck confit. Only vegetarians could express this kind of emotion over the simplest, most humble of food. My DH even commented that this particular dish could almost be compared to the pommes frites cooked in graisse de canard he enthusiastically and ravenously consumed at a local restaurant just last week (cholesterol be damned!)

A few months back during a trip to San Francisco and the Napa Valley, I found a source for exceptional quality, gourmet, heirloom dried beans, Rancho Gordo (www. ranchogordo.com ).  As I try very hard to limit the amount of "faux meat" (boca, tempeh, seitan) in my diet, and not being a huge fan of tofu, I rely heavily on beans and legumes for a legitimate source of protein.  One tires quickly of canned black beans and cannellini (and I use these often), so when new tastes come my way, I jump at the chance to experiment.  I know it's probably blasphemy to spend this amount of money on dried beans (about $30 for 3-4 lbs), but I have thoroughly enjoyed the complex flavors of these old-variety beans --black beans, white beans, brown-and-white spotted beans, green beans (not haricots verts), and tonight vallarta. I've not used vallarta beans before, in fact before I bought them, I had never heard of them. Dried, they have sort of a light golden champagne color, but when cooked become a deep rich, brown sugar color.  The flavor is intense, dense yet with a lightness, nutty, smoky, and chocolatey all at the same time.

My recipe tonight was based on Marcella Hazan's Assunta's Beans, giving reference to an old Italian woman from her young adulthood who prepared beans in a cast-iron pot over an open flame. You have to pamper these beans, drizzling with olive oil, kept at just a bare simmer with the least amount of water to keep from sticking, adding water as the cooking progresses.  It's kind of like making an Italian risotto--only over several hours vs. 25 minutes. Marcella and Assunta used fresh beans (cranberry and cannellini, respectively), but since this is winter and the only beans to be had are dried, that's what I used.  The published recipe calls only for fesh beans, olive oil, garlic, water, salt and pepper.  I modified starting off with a mirepoix, adding the pre-soaked beans, water, a little garlic, olive oil, and a few fresh sage leaves. Per Marcella's instructions, I covered the pot with a damp kitchen towel before adding the pot top.  I don't know exactly what this accomplishes, but I would guess to hold in more moisture. It took a few hours to cook, stirring and adding a little water every half hour or so . . .so you need to set aside plenty of time and be willing to fiddle frequently.  I've made this recipe twice before, once with dried cannellinis and once with fresh cranberry beans, and they were quite good.  However, I think tonight's success was a direct result of the type of bean I used.  The Vallarta bean had the body and texture to hold up to hours of cooking without becoming the least bit mushy.  Along with these delicious, earthy beans, I served a red-and wild rice pilaf (beautiful colors), and sauteed swiss chard. 

The beans, greens, and grains, together, made for a perfectly balanced, complete vegetarian repast. All in all, this was an incredibly satisfying meal, perfectly suited to a lazy, stay-at-home, watch-the-olympics kind of evening. And, I have leftovers!

Assunta's Beans, from Marcella Cucina

A pound of cranberry beans (I used dried vallarta beans-presoaked overnight), 3 or 4 garlic cloves smashed, 2/3 cup water, 1/3 cup olive oil, 5 or 6 sage leaves, salt and pepper. Put it on the stove, cover very tightly (she recommends a wet dishcloth under the lid, folded back on top of the lid), and cook over the lowest flame your stove will make for an hour and a half (about 3 hours for dried beans). Check every 20-30 minutes to make sure the beans don't go dry.  Add small amounts of water as needed (2T or so) The beans absorb the flavor of the sage and garlic, and they are just unbelievably delicious.

Note:  I began with a mirepoix, 2T each chopped onion, celery, and carrot.  I sauteed in 1 T butter and 1 T olive oil for 3-4 minutes before I added the beans, garlic, water, remainder of the olive oil, and sage.

Wehani & Wild Rice Pilaf
Serves 4

Preheat Oven to 350 Degrees

This is a variation on a recipe that I’ve made hundreds of times over the years. It can be changed to a simple French rice pilaf with herbs, a Spanish rice pilaf, one with Indian flavors, etc. The rice and cooking liquid proportions stay the same, vary the ingredients according to the type of food you are cooking. Originally based on Julia Child’s risotto from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol I, I greatly reduced the steps to produce a very simple recipe, ready under 30 minutes. This recipe works every time. 

Note:  Wild rice or brown rice cooks longer than basmati, jasmine, or regular white rice.  Increase cooking time to 45-50 minutes.

Ingredients:

8 oz (or l package) Wehani & Wild Rice (Lundberg)
2-3 Tablespoons finely-chopped yellow onion
1 Tablespoon Butter
1Tablespoon Olive Oil
2 Cups Vegetable Broth (homemade preferably, otherwise use water)
A couple of sprigs of fresh thyme, or 1/2 teaspoon dried
Salt to taste (1 tsp or a couple of grinds of sea salt)
Freshly ground pepper to taste


Rinse rice briefly under running water. Drain. Heat the vegetable broth until simmering in a saucepan. In a 2 quart casserole***, sauté onions in the butter and olive oil until soft, but not browned, approximately 4-5 minutes. Add rice and sauté for a minute or two to infuse flavors. Add the salt and pepper, thyme and the simmering vegetable broth. Give a couple of stirs with a spoon to incorporate ingredients. If the rice mixture doesn’t immediately come to a boil, bring to a low boil. Remove from heat. Cover and place casserole in a preheated 350 degree oven. Cook for 45-50 minutes. Remove from oven. If you are not using immediately, do not uncover and the pilaf will stay warm for half an hour or so.

*** I use Le Creuset enameled cast iron. This pot has to be able to withstand cooking on a stovetop, as well as in the oven.