Home • Summer Schedule & Location • Follow us on Twitter • Photo Gallery • YouTube • Cheers! • Cookbook

Tag: Beans

chickpea salad with kalamata olives

beans

salads

olives

chickpea

chickpeas

kalamata olives

garbanzo beans

Delicious recipes are included in each issue of the South Anchorage Farmers' Market Newsletter, be sure to sign up!
subscribe to newsletter via rss • subscribe to recipes via rss • subscribe to newsletter via email
download the print-friendly version of this recipe

I love this recipe! It’s based on one in Patricia Wells’ Bistro Cooking. It’s so easy (once you cook the chickpeas—and that’s just letting them simmer for a while on the stove), and so delicious! I haven’t tried it with canned chickpeas—let me know if it tastes good, if you try it! You can make a lot of chickpeas at once and then freeze them, ready to make salads. Or you can make this salad and then freeze the leftovers! It makes quite a bit, but it keeps well in the ‘fridge and freezes nicely. You can always halve the recipe if you don’t want to make so much—but why? It’s hardly any more bother to make the big batch and have it for later!

This is a great salad in which to use the really good olive oil you’ve been saving for a special occasion. If you don’t already have some really good stuff, they sure have a nice variety at Summit Spice & Tea Co., at 1120 E. Huffman Road.

for the chickpeas

3 cups dried chickpeas, soaked at least 4 hours or overnight
1 onion, quartered
4 garlic cloves, peeled
2 bay leaves

1. Drain the chickpeas. Put them in a pot, cover with fresh water by about an inch, and add the onion quarters and garlic and bay leaves. Make sure the water covers the onions. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer, partially covered, until the chickpeas are completely tender. This could be as short as an hour, or as long as an hour and a half or two. The peas should be quite soft—soft enough to easily mash between your tongue and the roof of your mouth. If you have time, let the chickpeas sit in their cooking liquid and cool—they will absorb more of the flavorful broth and have a creamier texture.
2. Pick out the onions and garlic and bay leaves and discard. Strain the chickpeas, reserving the broth. You won’t need any of the broth for the salad, but it makes fantastic vegetable stock to make soups or stews—freeze it until you’re ready to use it!

for the salad

¼ cup red wine vinegar
10 garlic cloves, finely minced
¼ cup finely chopped minced fresh herbs, such as rosemary, thyme, and parsley (just use whatever you have)
sea salt or kosher salt
freshly-ground pepper
¼ to ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil (to your taste)
1 cup pitted Kalamata olives (or you can use black oil-cured olives, if you can find them)
2 medium onions, finely minced

1. Prepare the vinaigrette: Combine the vinegar, garlic, herbs and a teaspoon of salt. Mix, and slowly whisk in the oil. Season to taste with pepper and more salt, if desired.
2. When the beans are cooked and drained, and while they are still warm (just reheat them if you’ve let them cool), add the olives, onion, and the vinaigrette; toss. Season to taste (they will probably need quite a bit more salt), add more olive oil if you like, and serve. You can serve this salad warm, or at room temperature.

tostadas three ways

cabbage

potatoes

beans

avocados

tortillas

tostadas

We cook this meal quite frequently, changing the toppings based on the season. The constants for this meal are corn tortillas, toasted until crisp in the oven, a layer of homemade refried beans (I switch between black beans, pintos, and anasazis), and salsa. After that, it’s up to what’s in season, what’s fresh at the farmers’ market, what storage vegetables I have in the garage, and how elaborate I want to get. In the middle of summer, we’ll top the tortillas with beans, then a limey cabbage salad, then avocado cubes and some salsa. In the fall and winter, on top of the beans, we pile roasted butternut squash cubes, then guacamole, and pickled red onions or salsa. Sometimes we do roasted potatoes, instead of the squash—we tried purple potatoes last summer and they were really fun. Cheese turns out to be unnecessary with all the other great flavors, but it’s certainly fine to add it—either on top of the beans, or to the tortilla at the end of its toasting time in the oven.

And maybe you feel like a simpler meal? Just make the beans and pick one of the vegetable salads, depending on the season! We very often just have the refried beans and cabbage salad. I make lots of extra beans and freeze them for when I want a quick meal! See the photo for the abbreviated version of this meal—with the cabbage salad, and refrieds made out of pinto beans.

corn tortillas
refried beans (recipe follows)
roasted winter squash cubes OR cabbage salad OR garlic-roasted potatoes (recipes follow)
salsa and/or pickled red onions (recipe follows)
guacamole or diced avocado (recipe follows)

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Set the corn tortillas on baking sheets in a single layer and toast them in the oven for 15 minutes, until crisp, fragrant, and just starting to get golden brown. Toast 2 or 3 tortillas per person.
2. Let each person top their tortilla with beans, then squash or cabbage salad or potatoes, then avocado, salsa, and/or pickled onions. Eat with plenty of napkins at the ready!

refried beans
This recipe will give you plenty of beans for a couple of days’ leftovers (always a good thing, in my book). They freeze really well, too, so make as many as you like and freeze them (well-labeled) in plastic containers for future tostada meals.

3 cups dried beans: black turtle beans, pinto, or anasazi beans
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
3 large onions (1 for quartering, 2 for dicing)
10 garlic cloves, peeled (4 to be left whole, 6 to be minced)
2 bay leaves
4 teaspoons cumin seeds, toasted in a skillet and freshly ground
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder, or regular chili powder
sea salt or kosher salt

1. Soak the beans in water for 4 hours or overnight.
2. Quarter 1 of the onions, leaving the root end on so the quarters stay intact. Cover the beans in water by a couple of inches, and add the quartered onion, 4 whole garlic cloves and the bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down and simmer, partially covered, until the beans are completely tender. When the beans are tender enough to easily squish between your tongue and the roof of your mouth, turn off the heat. This could take from 30 minutes to an hour or longer, depending on how old the beans are. Just make sure the beans are nice and soft. Turn off the heat and let the beans cool for a bit. If you have time, let them sit, covered, until they are completely cool. Remove the quartered onion, bay leaves, and whole garlic cloves and discard.
3. Chop the remaining 2 onions into small dice, and mince the remaining 6 garlic cloves. Saute the onions with 1 teaspoon salt in a wide skillet over medium-high heat until they start to brown—5 or 10 minutes. Then add the garlic, cumin, oregano, chili powder, and 1 more teaspoon salt, and sauté for 5 minutes more.
4. Add the beans and 1 cup of their cooking liquid. Raise the heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes or so, partially mashing some of the beans with the back of a wooden spoon, a potato masher, or an immersion blender.
5. Season with plenty of salt and pepper to taste. The beans can take a lot of salt, so just keep tasting until they are perfectly seasoned. You may need to add more salt when you reheat them—just taste and see.

roasted winter squash cubes
Smooth-skinned squashes (like butternut and banana squash) are easiest to do this with, because it’s very easy to peel them before they are cooked. When I do this recipe, I usually roast 2 pounds, at least, because the squash cubes make such great leftovers… If you make this meal for dinner you’ll have leftovers for lunch and another dinner, which is always a good thing! You can eat more tostadas, or toss the squash cubes into a salad, or just eat them with leftover beans.

1 pound banana squash, or 1 large butternut squash (at least a pound)
½ teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon honey

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Peel and seed your squash and dice it into ½” pieces (the pieces don’t have to be square, though).
3. Coat a large baking sheet with non-stick spray or oil. (This makes clean-up a lot easier.)
4. Toss the squash cubes with the olive oil and salt. Spread them out in a single layer on the baking sheet.
5. Roast for 20-25 minutes, or until starting to get brown and slightly shriveled. Remove the squash from the oven, keeping the oven on, and drizzle a little honey over the squash. Toss the cubes with the honey and return to the oven. Bake for 5 to 10 minutes more, until the squash is browned.

cabbage salad
This salad recipe is based on one in Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Suppers book. It’s fine even the next day as leftovers with the beans—it just gets to be more like cabbage pickles.

6 cups finely sliced green or purple cabbage
1 ½ teaspoons sea salt or kosher salt
2 teaspoons sugar
¼ cup finely diced white onion or scallion
2 pinches dried oregano
2 to 4 tablespoons chopped cilantro (if you have it—but go ahead and make this salad without cilantro if you don’t have any hanging around.)
1/3 cup lime juice

Toss the cabbage with the salt and onion and sugar. Add the rest of the salad ingredients, toss well, and refrigerate until ready to use.

garlic-roasted potatoes

2 pounds Butterball potatoes (or other yellow, waxy potato)
garlic oil (recipe in Step 1.)
sea salt or kosher salt and freshly-ground pepper

1. Make garlic oil: Mash or mince 3 or 4 garlic cloves and cover with ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil. Let steep for 30 minutes if you have time. Strain out the garlic and store the oil in the refrigerator.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the potatoes into bite-sized pieces. Toss them in a bowl with a few spoonfuls of garlic oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss again.
3. Lightly oil a large baking dish or sheet pan, and transfer the potatoes onto it, making sure that a cut side of each potato is touching the pan. (The side touching the pan will brown nicely). Roast the potatoes until tender and browned, 35 to 40 minutes.

pickled red onions

1 pound red onions
1 quart boiling water, more or less
1-2 cups white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons sea salt or kosher salt
2 bay leaves
10 peppercorns, lightly crushed
2 pinches dried thyme
a pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)

1. Halve the onions, peel them, and slice them into half-moons about ¼” thick. Separate the half-ring slices from each other and pile them in a bowl.
2. Bring a kettle of water to a boil, and pour the boiling water over the onions. Stir the onions around in the hot water for 30 seconds, just to soften them, then drain them in a colander (you don’t want to let them sit in the boiling water too long or they’ll lose their crunch.)
3. Put the sugar, salt, bay leaves, peppercorns, thyme, and red pepper flakes in a large jar, and add about a ¼ cup of hot or warm water. Stir to dissolve the sugar and salt.
4. Jam the onions into the jar. Pour in white wine vinegar to cover the onions. If you don’t have enough vinegar to cover, you can add some water. I don’t usually do this, though, because I reuse the vinegar once or twice, so I like the brine solution quite strong. Put the lid on the jar, shake to combine, and keep it refrigerated. The pink color will begin to infuse in about an hour. Taste them after they’ve pickled for a day, and add more salt and sugar to taste, if they don’t have enough zip for you.

guacamole
Yes, this website is all about seasonal, local food, but it would be awfully hard to live without avocados. I buy bags of avocados all year ‘round at Costco. Here’s how to ripen and store the avocados from Costco so they don’t get overripe and go to waste. Buy a bag of them when they are rock-hard, and set them on your counter. Every day (you must be vigilant), squeeze them very gently to see how soft they are getting. When they have just begun to get soft (don’t wait until they are squishy), put them in the refrigerator RIGHT AWAY—this will more or less arrest their further ripening, and you will have a treasure trove of perfectly ripe avocados for a week or more. If you want to make this Alaskan guacamole, make it with our local onions!

¼ to ½ cup minced onion (to your taste)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1-2 jalepeno peppers, seeded with a spoon and minced
¼ cup minced fresh cilantro (optional)
¼ to ½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cumin (optional)
3 ripe avocados
2-3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1. After mincing the onion, scoop it into a glass or bowl and cover with cold water and let it soak while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. (This takes away some of the bite of the raw onion.)
2. Put the garlic, jalepeno, cilantro, salt, and cumin in a medium bowl.
3. Halve, pit, and peel the avocados.
4. Drain the onion well in a sieve and add to the bowl, stir with a fork. Put one avocado into the bowl and mash the flesh with the onion mixture.
5. Cube the remaining 2 avocados into ½” pieces and put the pieces into the bowl. Sprinkle the lime juice over the diced avocado and mix entire contents of bowl lightly with a fork until combined but still chunky. Adjust seasoning with salt and lime juice. Try not to eat the entire bowl while you’re testing it.
6. You can cover it with plastic wrap, pressed directly onto surface of guacamole, and refrigerate it for a few hours before serving, if you like.

tuscan white bean stew with greens

carrots

beans

kale

chard

collards

celery

stew

rosemary

soups

porcini mushrooms

I think you’d have to be crazy to make a single batch of this recipe, since it freezes so well, and because it’s SO DELICIOUS and it tastes even better the next day… In fact, if you make it the day before, and saute up a pile of fresh chard with garlic to put in it right before you eat it, I’m betting you’ll swoon with joy. I think this might be the best soup I’ve ever made. But anyway, about the double batch… it does take a pretty large pot, so do what you think is best. And then go out and buy a REALLY BIG POT (with a heavy, stout bottom) for next time!

This recipe is loosely based on one from a recent Cook’s Illustrated magazine. The interesting twist that they’ve found to get really tender, perfect white beans is to soak the beans in salt water! I was really excited to try this, because often times my white beans don’t come out perfectly. Some will be disintegrating and others in the pot will be hard and crunchy still, or have hard, tough skins. This brining the beans really works! I’m completely sold!

The other key to perfectly beautiful beans is to keep them from boiling hard, which tends to explode the beans. So you cook the beans over very low heat. The Cook’s Illustrated people do it in a 250 degree oven, but I think it works just fine in a big, covered pot in the stovetop, turned way down so the soup is just barely bubbling.

kosher salt or sea salt
1 pound dried large white beans (about 2 cups), like Great Northern or cannellini
½ ounce dried porcini mushrooms
1 tablespoon olive oil
1-2 large onions, chopped medium
3 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 ribs celery, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
8 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 bay leaves
———————————————————
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 large or 2 small sprigs rosemary
———————————————————-
1-2 medium bunches kale or collard greens, or chard
ground black pepper

1. Rinse the beans in a colander. Dissolve 3 tablespoons salt in 4 quarts cold water in large bowl or container. Add beans and soak, at room temperature, for at least 8 and up to 24 hours. Drain and rinse well.
2. Place mushrooms in a heat-proof bowl and pour boiling water over them to cover. Cover the bowl with a plate so it stays hot, and let sit for at least 10 minutes, while you chop the vegetables.
3. Pour the mushrooms through a fine-mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth (saving the liquid!), then lift mushrooms out of the strainer and mince them. Set mushrooms and liquid aside.
4. Heat oil in large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion, celery, and carrots. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened and lightly browned, 10 to 16 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in 8 cups of water, bay leaves, soaked beans, and reserved mushrooms and their cooking liquid. Increase heat to high and bring stew to simmer. Turn the heat down, cover the pot, and keep the pot at a bare simmer (you’ll have to take the lid off and check occasionally) until beans are tender, 40 minutes to 1 hour, or longer, depending on the age and type of bean.
5. Stir in the tomatoes and their juice.
6. Strip the rosemary leaves off their stems and chop them very, very finely. The easiest way to do this is to pulverize them in a coffee grinder. It really works! Stir the rosemary in, too.
7. Taste the stew for salt, and add as much as needed to perfectly flavor it. Add pepper, too, to taste. After the soup sits, you may need to add more salt.
8. If you’re making the soup ahead (my recommendation—it always tastes even more divine then), just let it cool and refrigerate until the next day.
9. When you’re ready to eat the soup, prepare the greens. Trim the stems from the leaves and chop them into 1-inch pieces. Sauté them in a pan in a little olive oil and a sprinkle of salt (add minced garlic, if you like) over medium-high heat. If you’re using mature kale or collards, after you’ve wilted the leaves, you’ll need to add ½ cup of water or so and cover the pan, letting the leaves steam and simmer until they are completely tender. The chard will cook much more quickly, and probably won’t need water added. Add salt to taste as you cook them.
10. Reheat the soup if it’s not already hot, and decide if you like the consistency of the soup. Do you want to add more liquid? Just add a bit more water. I like it soupy, while others may like it more like a stew. Do what seems best to you!
11. When the greens are tender, stir them into the stew, taste once again for salt and pepper, and serve. This soup is fantastic served with hearty sourdough whole-grain bread or toast, dipped in some really nice extra-virgin olive oil.

lemony chickpeas in Sicilian mint sauce

beans

salad

mint

lemon

chickpea

bean

garbanzo

This recipe is very loosely based on a grilled chicken recipe in Lynne Rosetto Kaspar’s The Italian Country Table. My friend Andi (a local-food lover and wonderful cook living in Vermont) sent me her version of the recipe and suggested I use fresh Alaskan fish with the mint sauce—but since I happened to have the cookbook, too, I read the recipe and thought it would be fun to try it with chickpeas!

My recent discovery (in the Tuscan white bean soup with greens recipe) about soaking dried beans in salt water instead of plain water works really well for chickpeas, too! The chickpeas’ skins soften deliciously, and they cook in much less time than usual. (I learned this trick in a recent Cook’s Illustrated magazine.)

I wouldn’t ever cook such a small batch of chickpeas—I soak and cook large pots of them at a time, and then freeze them (after step 2) for different applications. Two cups of chickpeas will make something like 4 to 5 cups of cooked chickpeas. So if you make a big batch (8 or 10 cups’ worth), just scoop out what you need for this salad, then freeze the rest in labeled containers, all ready to make hummus, or the chickpea salad with kalamata olives (also on this website).

the chickpeas

sea salt or kosher salt
2 cups dried chickpeas
1 large onion, peeled and quartered
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 bay leaf
————
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
shredded zest of 1 medium lemon
½ teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon freshly-ground pepper
½ teaspoon salt

the mint sauce

1 medium red onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ teaspoon sugar
¼ cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup packed mint leaves, finely chopped

1. Rinse the chickpeas in a colander. Dissolve 3 tablespoons salt in 4 quarts cold water in large bowl or container. Add chickpeas and soak, at room temperature, for at least 8 and up to 24 hours. Drain and rinse well.
2. Put the chickpeas in a pot and cover with cold water by a couple of inches. Add the quartered onion, garlic, and bay leaves, making sure the water covers the onions. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, until the beans are tender. This could take 30 minutes to 1½ hours, depending on the size of the beans and how old they are. I’ve found, though, that the brining step really shortens the cooking time—so if you’ve cooked chickpeas before and they’ve taken over an hour, start checking at 30 or 40 minutes. I was surprised when I did this the first time! When the beans are tender enough to easily squish between your tongue and the roof of your mouth, turn the heat off. If you have time, let the beans sit in their liquid with the aromatics until cool. Remove the quartered onions and whole garlic cloves and discard. Drain the chickpeas, RESERVING THE LIQUID. You won’t need the liquid for this recipe, but it makes a fantastic vegetable stock for soups, stews, and whatever you would normally use vegetable or chicken stock. Freeze it in labeled containers indefinitely.
3. Toss the chickpeas with the oil, lemon zest, oregano, pepper, and salt. Marinate at room temperature for an hour or so, or if you’ll not be making it right away, let it marinate in the refrigerator up to overnight. When you’re ready to serve them, warm them to room temperature or a little warmer.
4. About 30 minutes before eating, stir together the minced onion, garlic, sugar, vinegar, and salt and pepper in a small bowl. Let stand 20 minutes, then whisk in the oil. Toss the mint into the mixture, stir well, and then spoon over the chickpeas. Mix well, and taste for seasoning: add more vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.

hummus

beans

chickpea

bean

garbanzo

chickpeas

toast toppings

roasted garlic

You’re probably wondering why I’m bothering to give you a recipe for hummus—why make something you can buy so readily? Because home-made hummus is SO MUCH TASTIER, mainly because taking the time to cook your own chickpeas (which is considerable, I’ll admit) will create a hummus that you’ll want to eat straight out of the bowl. The home-cooked chickpeas are so flavorful and creamy you don’t even need to add olive oil—the tahini adds enough richness on its own—although you certainly can add olive oil if you like. And another reason to cook your own chickpeas for hummus: if you put your chickpeas up to soak in the afternoon, and then have a quiet evening at home (reading your book in front of nice cosy fire, for example), you’ll notice very soft popping noises every once in a while. That will be the chickpeas, popping as they soak up water and expand! Isn’t that fun? Just see if you don’t hear it, too.

I’m giving you this recipe because it’s so great on toast and in sandwiches. (I like to spread hummus on one side and olive tapenade on the other half, then put veggies in the middle, including any grilled vegetables I might have, plus red onions, lettuce, cucumbers, and especially avocados.) It’s great with the plain 100% whole wheat sourdough bread, but I also love to use the kalamata olive, rosemary, and toasted seed breads.
Need I mention that I make this recipe in large batches and freeze it in tubs? That way I always have something on hand to whip out for appetizers, or to make a delicious sandwich or side to complete dinner. If you like, you can top your hummus toast with sliced cucumbers, or pickled red onions, or roasted red peppers, or olives.

the chickpeas
This will make about 10 cups cooked chickpeas, plus liquid (You’ll need some of the liquid for the hummus.)

4 cups dried chickpeas, soaked at least 4 hours or overnight
1 onion, quartered
4 garlic cloves, peeled
2 bay leaves

1. Drain the chickpeas. Put them in a large pot, cover with fresh water by about an inch, and add the onion quarters and garlic and bay leaves. Make sure the water covers the onions. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer, partially covered, until the chickpeas are completely tender. This could be as short as an hour, or as long as an hour and a half or more. The peas should be quite soft—soft enough to easily mash between your tongue and the roof of your mouth. If you have time, let the chickpeas sit in their cooking liquid and cool—they will absorb more of the flavorful broth and have a creamier texture.
2. When you’re ready to make your hummus, pick out the onions and garlic and bay leaves and discard. Strain the chickpeas, reserving the broth. You’ll need some of it for the hummus, but use the rest as vegetable stock to make soups or stews—freeze it until you’re ready to use it.

the hummus

9 cloves garlic
1 cup roasted tahini
1 teaspoon toasted, ground cumin (toast the seeds in a skillet first, then grind in a coffee grinder or with a mortar and pestle)
juice of 3 lemons
2 teaspoons sea salt or kosher salt, plus more to taste
about 10 cups chickpeas, from previous recipe, plus cooking liquid as needed
extra-virgin olive oil (optional, to taste)
roasted garlic (optional)

1. Toss the garlic in a food processor and process until thoroughly minced. Add the tahini, cumin, lemon juice, and salt to the work bowl and process some more until well mixed.
2. Add as many of the chickpeas to the bowl as fit comfortably and process again, running the blade until the mixture is a fairly smooth puree. If it doesn’t start to form a puree, add a little of the cooking liquid until it starts coming together. Dump this mixture into a big bowl. Put some more of the chickpeas in the bowl, and start the blade. Add cooking liquid again until the mixture starts to become a puree, then let the blade go until the peas are smooth. Repeat until you have pureed all the chickpeas and scooped them out into the bowl.
3. Mix them all together so the initial tahini batch is thoroughly combined with the chickpeas from the later batches, and taste it. It may need a little more lemon, and it is very likely to need more salt. Add a little at a time, mixing well between additions, until you have the perfect combination. Ask other members of your family or a friendly neighbor to taste it and see if they think it needs more lemon or salt—they might start eating it by the spoonful, just to make sure you have the right balance!
4. If you want to make this recipe richer and more creamy, you can add olive oil—either mixed right in, or drizzled over the top. I don’t think it needs it, because of the richness of the tahini, but by all means add it if you like.
5. If you’d like to make roasted garlic hummus, puree several cloves of roasted garlic into the chickpea mixture in the food processor. Taste it and add more cloves to your taste.

kale (or collards) and cabbage with white beans on garlic toast

cabbage

beans

kale

collards

This is one of my favorite recipes, believe it or not. The ingredients are so unassuming and humble, but when you cook them all together, they become wonderfully good. The onions are sweet, the garlic and greens are savory, the parsley is fresh and vibrant, and the cabbage is tender. You don’t have to put this on toast, but I love it that way. If you add lots more bean broth, this is a good soup, as well. It’s a meal on its own.

It makes a big batch, but I’m betting you won’t have any trouble finishing it off as leftovers. It tastes even better the second day, after the flavors have had time to meld. This recipe is a variation of one in Deborah Madison’s Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating from America’s Farmers’ Markets.

beans:

2 cups white beans, soaked for 4 hours or overnight
1 onion, peeled and quartered
4 garlic cloves, peeled but left whole
2 bay leaves
sea salt or kosher salt

vegetables:

2 large onions, finely diced
2 bunches dino or Tuscan kale or collard greens, leaves stripped from the stems and sliced into ½” slices
1 small cabbage, either Savoy or green cabbage, quartered, cored, and sliced thinly
4 plump garlic cloves, minced
1 cup of chopped parsley
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
sea salt or kosher salt and freshly-ground pepper

toast:

thick slices of hearty whole-wheat bread (1 or 2 per person)
garlic
extra-virgin olive oil

1. Drain the soaked beans, then put them in a pot and cover with cold water by at least an inch. Add the quartered onion, garlic, and bay leaves and make sure the water covers the onions. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, until the beans are tender. This could take 45 minutes to 1 ½ hours, depending on the size of the beans and how old they are. When the beans are tender enough to easily squish between your tongue and the roof of your mouth, turn the heat off. If you have time, let the beans sit in their liquid with the aromatics until cool. Remove the quartered onions and whole garlic and discard. Add salt to the beans to taste.
2. While the beans are cooking, chop all the vegetables and bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the kale or collards and boil them until tender. The boiling time could be as short as 3 minutes in the summer, or as long as 10 or 12 minutes in the fall, depending on how big and old the greens are—just keep tasting them. Drain the greens.
3. Warm the olive oil in a heavy, wide skillet or pot (non-stick works especially well). Add the onion and cook over medium heat with 1 teaspoon salt until the onion is soft and golden brown, about 12 minutes. Add the kale or collards, cabbage, garlic, parsley, and 2 more teaspoons salt. Cook over low heat with the pan covered until the vegetables are soft and the volume greatly reduced, about 15-20 minutes.
4. When the beans are done, add them, along with a cup or two or their cooking liquid, to the pot. Simmer until the greens are completely tender. Taste for salt and season with pepper. (You may have to add quite a bit of salt—kale and collards need a lot of salt, as do beans.) Save the rest of the bean broth for vegetable stock in soups and stews—just freeze it until you need it.
5. Toast the bread slices. Rub the toasts with a peeled clove of garlic. Spoon the beans and greens over the toast and serve, drizzled with a little olive oil, if desired.

chard & fennel with tomatoes & black-eyed peas

beans

tomatoes

chard

fennel

black-eyed peas

This recipe is loosely based on one in Paula Wolfert’s Mediterranean Grains and Greens. I love the flavor of fennel with the chard, and I love that the onions and chard stems and fennel mingle together into a luscious, syrupy sweetness that goes so well with the chard leaves and tomatoes. I usually just eat this for dinner, but you could serve it with garlic-scrubbed whole-grain toast or rice.

2 cups dried black-eyed peas, soaked for 4 hours or overnight
6 cloves garlic, peeled
2 bay leaves
——————————————
2 large onions, diced
sea salt or kosher salt
2 cups diced fennel bulb
2-3 large bunches Swiss chard, stems chopped into ½-inch slices and leaves cut into 1-inch ribbons (separate from each other)
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large (28-oz) can diced tomatoes
¼ teaspoon fennel seeds, smashed in a mortar
freshly ground black pepper

1. Drain and rinse the soaked peas. Cover the black-eyed peas with 2 inches of water in a large pot, toss in the whole garlic cloves and bay leaves, and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and let simmer until the beans are completely tender (you can squish them between your tongue and roof of your mouth). This will probably take about 30 minutes, but keep testing.
2. Meanwhile, sauté the onions in the olive oil in a large soup pot or saucepan with 1 teaspoon salt until they begin to release their liquid. Add the fennel bulb and chard stems, and cook over high heat until soft and aromatic.
3. Add the greens to the pan, along with the tomatoes and fennel seeds and grindings of pepper, and cook for 10 minutes, or until the chard leaves are tender.
4. Drain the cooked black-eyed peas, reserving the broth for use in another recipe (as soup stock). Add the black-eyed peas to the saucepan along with enough broth to moisten everything nicely. Simmer for a couple of minutes to combine the flavors, then try it and add salt to taste. I like this dish kind of as a soupy stew consistency, but just add the amount of bean cooking broth to your liking.
5. Serve warm or cool. It tastes even better the next day, as with all bean dishes.

subscribe to newsletter via rss