Savory Beans Recipes

SAVORY STRING BEANS

Steps:

• In a skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Remove bacon; crumble and set aside. Drain, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings. Add beans, water, onion and seasonings to drippings; bring to a boil. Cook, uncovered, until beans are tender, 15-20 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Stir in bacon.

SAVORY BAKED BEANS

Steps:

• Wash and pick over beans. Place them in a large saucepan and cover with the water. Bring to a boil, and boil for 2 minutes. Cover and let stand for 1 hour.
• Add bay leaf, garlic, onion and parsley to the beans. Bring to a boil again. Cover loosely and simmer for 45 minutes, or until beans are just tender. Note: the times will vary with the type of bean you choose. Drain, if necessary. Put beans in 1 1/2-quart casserole.
• Meanwhile, saute celery in the oil for about 5 minutes. Add pickles, tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Stir mixture into beans. Cover. Bake at 250° for 2 hours. Uncover. Sprinkle with the cheese. Return to oven and bake 5 minutes longer.

SAVORY BEANS

Steps:

• Brown sausage (I use cast iron dutch oven).
• Add corn and beans.
• Simmer 15-20 minutes.

SAVORY BEANS AND GREENS COOKED IN THE FIREPLACE

Steps:

• Make a gentle oak fire in the fireplace, or preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Allow the fire to burn so that coals develop. If no hanging cauldron is available, use a fireplace grill or a brick structure that allows the pot to stand well above the fire. There should be very little flame when it comes time to cook the beans, and the pot should be at least 8 inches above the coals.
• In a large skillet on the stove, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Saute the onion (and pancetta) until the onion is golden, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the chopped garlic. Remove half of this mixture from the skillet and place in a round- bottomed cauldron or a flat-bottomed casserole.
• Place the skillet with the remaining onion mixture over medium heat. Add half of the greens and cook, turning them constantly with a pair of tongs until wilted, about 4 minutes. About 1 minute before the greens are done, stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper to taste and 1 tablespoon of the vinegar. When the greens are wilted, remove from the pan and set aside. Place the remaining greens in the same skillet and cook, stirring and seasoning as above. Let cool and chop all the greens coarsely. Add the tomatoes and set aside.
• Drain the beans. Add them to the cauldron or casserole. Add chicken broth to cover the beans by 3/4 of an inch. Add the thyme and bay leaf. Lightly season with 1 teaspoon salt and pepper. Seal aluminum foil around three-quarters of the rim of the pot and leave it loose over the other quarter, letting it overhang the edge by 3 to 4 inches, forming a tunnel that traps the smoke rising from the fire. Place over the fire or in the oven.
• Cook for 45 minutes, making sure the broth simmers gently and that the liquid does not completely evaporate. During this time, add chicken broth if necessary to keep the mixture quite moist. Lift the foil up and stir in the greens. Continue cooking until the beans are soft and creamy, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Remove from the heat, stir in the parsley and season to taste with salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar. Remove the bay leaf. This dish is best when cooked at least 30 minutes before serving and can be made the day before.

SAVORY GREEN BEANS

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the green beans and boil 3 to 4 minutes until just tender. Drain beans and immediately plunge into ice water. Allow to sit in ice water until cold, then drain well, and set aside.
• Cook pancetta in a large skillet over medium-high heat until crispy, then set aside. Reduce heat to medium, stir shallots into the pancetta fat, and cook gently until the shallots have turned dark golden brown, about 10 minutes. Place pancetta and green beans in skillet; toss and cook until warmed through, about 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper before serving.

SAVORY BAKED BEANS

Steps:

• In a dutch over cook the bacon, onion and garlic. The bacon does not have to be completely cooked through but should not be limp. Turn off heat. Remove bacon and let it cool enough to handle. Keep the onion and garlic in the pan. Coarsely chopped the bacon and return to pan. Add the beans. Cover with water (one inch above) the beans. Gently simmer, uncovered over medium low heat. Stir occasionally. Keep the beans covered with water. After one hour add the beer, the green chili, the hot sauce, and the salt. Cook for an hour longer and check the beans. They should be soft but not mushy. The beans can cook for another half hour if necessary. Check for taste. Add salt or hot sauce if needed. Remove from heat. The heat from the pot and the beans will keep them warm for a half hour or longer. Reheat if needed. Can be made a day ahead. Leftovers can be mashed in a food processor and transformed into a bean dip.

EASY SAVORY BAKED BEANS

Steps:

• Cook bacon in 10-inch skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp. Drain, reserving 2 tablespoons drippings.
• Mix cooked bacon, 2 tablespoons drippings and remaining ingredients in 3 1/2- to 4-quart slow cooker.
• Cover and cook on high heat setting 1 hour.
• Turn to low heat setting; cook 5 to 7 hours to blend and develop flavors.

KHORESH RIVAS (SAVORY RHUBARB AND BEAN STEW)

Steps:

• Bring a few tablespoons of water to a boil in a small pot. Let the boiling water stand for 2 minutes to allow the temperature to drop slightly while you grind the saffron. Using a mortar and pestle (or a small bowl and the handle of a wooden spoon), grind a pinch of sugar with the saffron to a fine powder (you should have about ¼ teaspoon total). Add 2 tablespoons of the hot water, gently stir, cover and let steep until ready to use.
• In a large pan, heat ¼ cup of olive oil over medium. Add the parsley and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant and slightly darkened, about 8 minutes. Drizzle in more oil if the pan seems too dry. Add the mint and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Keep in mind that mint burns very quickly. Remove from the heat and set aside until ready to use. (You'll reuse this pan.)
• In a large, deep sauté pan with a lid, or a Dutch oven, heat ¼ cup of the olive oil over medium-high. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with a little salt, and reduce the heat to medium. Add the turmeric, stir and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the beans, season well with salt and pepper, and cook, gently stirring without breaking the beans, until the flavors have mingled, about 5 minutes. Taste a bean and make sure it's salted to your liking. The turmeric might feel overpowering at this point, but it will mellow as the stew simmers.
• To the beans, add the parsley and mint mixture (keeping the pan handy), 2 cups water and half of the saffron water, and season with salt. Gently stir and bring to a rapid simmer. Partly cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer, occasionally stirring, for 30 minutes, until the flavors have mingled and the oil rises.
• Add the rest of the saffron water, the lemon juice and 1 tablespoon sugar. Stir and simmer, partly covered, for 15 minutes. Taste as the stew simmers and season as needed. Add more water to the stew if necessary to make it juicier, or remove the lid to reduce the liquid. There should be plenty of liquid to spoon over rice, but it shouldn't be soupy. The stew can be made 1 day in advance up to this point.
• Meanwhile, wipe clean the reserved pan from the herbs. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and heat over medium. Add the rhubarb and cook until the color deepens on each side, about 2 minutes per side. You're not fully cooking the rhubarb here; it should maintain its shape and still have a slight bite to it, as it will finish cooking in the stew.
• Gently place the rhubarb pieces in the stew, increase the heat to medium-low and cook, partly covered, until the rhubarb is tender and releases its tangy flavor, about 10 minutes. Don't stir the rhubarb; you want it to maintain its shape and not turn mushy. Taste the stew as it simmers; add more lemon juice for extra acidity, if needed, and more sugar for balance, if you like. Serve over rice.