Beans: Healthy, Hearty, and Delicious

By Luci

Could anything be more healthy? Beans contain amino acids, the protein building blocks of life. They are rich in fiber, iron and lots of good vitamins and minerals. If you want to eat a healthy diet that benefits most of the organs of the body, beans will be an important component.

All that protein and fiber guarantee a savory, mouth and stomach-filling dish. While some like beans without additional ingredients, most of us prefer add-ons to boost the flavor. That’s easy to do. A wide range of ingredients can flavor beans, but onion and garlic are pretty essential. Add herbs, spices, greens and anything else that appeals to your taste imagination.

To emphasize the versatility of beans, here are three different beans (white, black and red lentils) and three different ways of preparing them (Italian style with herbs, one using Asian spices and the third with Middle Eastern flavoring).

Prepared beans keep 3-4 days in the fridge and are freezable. In fact, I made large batches of all three below so I could freeze them for many future meals.

The Internet has lots of suggestions for countering their gas-producing property. Choose your anti-poison.

White Beans, Italian Style with Herbs

These beans are a standout! The magic comes from  tomatoes roasted with herbs and a final seasoning of Parmesan cheese for abundant umami . Roasting tomatoes makes them soft and sweeter with greater depth of flavor. Roasting them with herbs and olive oil is deliciously transformative.

For a simply superb lunch, serve them with crusty Italian bread and a fruity olive oil. Add a glass of white wine, perhaps a Pinot Grigio. Now, that’s Italian!

Accompany the beans with a salad of leafy greens and you will have just about the healthiest and tasty lunch on the planet.

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped fine

1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped fine

1/2 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped fine

1 medium garlic clove, grated or minced

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound grape tomatoes, each halved

2 14-ounce cans white beans. I prefer them undrained. If you prefer to drain the beans, add about 1 cup chicken or vegetable broth. 

2-4 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (about 1/2 to 1 cup), depending on how cheesy you would like the dish.

A bit of evoo and/or fresh lemon juice (optional) will spark it up.

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 300F. 

2. Cover a 9x13 baking pan with parchment paper.

3. Mix the herbs, garlic and olive oil together.

4. Put the tomato halves, cut side up, onto the parchment paper. Cover them with the herb/oil mixture and mix thoroughly with your hands. (Using your hands will coat the tomatoes best and provide some childlike fun.)

5. Bake for 1 1/2 - 2 hours depending on size and water content of the tomatoes. 

6. Meanwhile, heat the beans in a large pot with the liquid from the beans or the broth, along with the herby tomatoes until the beans have softened.

7. Add the Parmesan cheese and mix thoroughly. If you’d like, add a small drizzle of olive oil and/or a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Note: When purchasing fresh herbs on Staten Island, Met, compared to other super markets on the northern part of SI, has a much larger amount of herbs and are typically fresher while at the same price.

Black Bean Soup

Black beans are not typically prepared with Asian flavoring but I thought it would be an interesting experiment. Indeed, the result was quite delicious and surprisingly hearty but not very Asian tasting. Not a problem; it was one of the best black bean soups I’ve ever made. 

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

1 teaspoon black mustard seeds (optional)

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds or 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1 large onion, chopped fine

1 large clove garlic, grated or minced

3 black cardamon seeds

1 1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric 

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup coconut milk

2 tablespoons veal demi-glace (optional)*

1 cup water

2 14-ounce cans black beans

8 large basil leaves, chopped

Preparation

1. If you are using the mustard and cumin seeds, heat a large pot and toss them in. In about 1 minute they will pop and release an intense odor and flavor.

2. Heat the coconut oil in the pot and add the onion and garlic. Stir for about 4 minutes until they have changed color and softened. Stir in the cardamom seeds, turmeric, coriander and cayenne and cook for a few minutes, Add the chicken broth, coconut milk, veal demi-glace and water. 

3. Bring to a boil, add the black beans and basil leaves, lower heat and simmer until beans are soft, about 15 minutes.

Serve with savory crackers and perhaps a glass of a red wine such as Beaujolais.

*Veal demi-glace is magic! I made one batch of black beans with good but weak flavor. A second batch with veal demi-glace did the trick. I use it in almost any savory dish or sauce because it boosts body (more gelatin in veal bones than beef bones). It has mild flavor replete with umami, yet does not change the basic taste of the dish - just lifts it way up.

Many local stores carry D'artagnan’s veal demi-glace but I find it close to worthless. I order it online from Citarella in Manhattan or pick it up there and get several pints because it freezes so well. Only small amounts are needed so if you think it’s pricey, I think of it as a bargain because its effect on taste is priceless. 

Middle Eastern Red Lentils

Lentils are milder in flavor than most beans and red lentils are milder than brown or black ones. They are rich in fiber and protein and lend themselves well to spices. As they cook, they break down to a creamy consistency.

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small yellow onion, chopped fine

1 medium shallot, chopped fine

1 medium garlic clove, grated or minced

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander 

1/2 teaspoon ground fenugreek

1/2 teaspoon sumac*, ground

1/8 teaspoon cayenne 

2 cups vegetable broth

1 can Hunt’s fire-roasted tomatoes

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups red lentils

Preparation

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, shallot and garlic. Cook, stirring, for about 4 minutes, until the vegetables have turned color but are not browned.

2. Add the cumin, coriander, fenugreek, sumac and cayenne. Cook, stirring, for about another 5 minutes.

3. Add the vegetable broth, tomatoes and salt. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

4. Add the red lentils and continue to simmer for 15 minutes or until lentils are soft.

   
   

Serve with a glass of lassi. While lassi is a Pakistani/Indian drink, its yogurt and mild spicy taste are just right for this dish.

*Sumac`adds the brightness of acidic ingredients such as lemon so it’s sour, but also mildly astringent and more complex than lemon. It is commonly used in Middle-Eastern cuisine. 

On a personal note. I first tasted it after a wonderful summer of waitressing in the Guy Lombardo restaurant at Jones Beach. I was a young, naive girl from Pittsburgh who had just finished my sophomore year in college. My friend, Josie, a classmate who was French and quite sophisticated, especially about food as her father was a waiter in an upscale French restaurant, suggested the waitress job and a few days in Manhattan at the end of our gig. “Let’s eat at the Algonquin,” she said. Did I know the Algonquin’s reputation - nope. or I might have been intimidated. I ordered Chicken Soraya. It was memorable. The chicken was great but the beautiful rice (white, gold and black) blew my taste buds and mind. It was topped with raw egg yolk and on top of that, a nice mound of ground, black something. I had to know what it was so I asked the waiter, praising its marvelous taste. He was, I’m sure, pleased to see my delight and inquisitiveness so he told us all about sumac's use as a spice, and then about Queen Soraya, the beautiful wife of the disgraced Shah Reza Pahlavi of Iran and also about the Algonquin with its glorious regulars (e.g., Dorothy Parker) and the tradition of keeping a cat. Quite an experience for young, naive me.