White Bean Ragout

This is a simple dish from the Tuscany region of Italy. Feel free to substitute various ingredients depending on what's in your cupboards. We've given the vegetarian version of this dish; however, it's frequently made with bacon or pancetta (a bacon like cured meat that's popular in Italy). Just dice up your bacon, fry it until crisp and then use the rendered fat to saute your onions, carrot and celery mix. Fresh tomatoes if you have them are great. In winter months, substitute canned tomatoes. 

Buon Appetito!!!


Ingredients:

• 1 cup of white (navy beans or white kidney) beans, soaked overnight (or use 2 cans white beans, drained and rinsed.
• 1/4 cup olive oil (plus some more for toast) 
• 1-1/2 cups finely diced onions
• 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, finely grated or minced 
• 4 Tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese, divided 
• 3 cups vegetable broth 
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered 
• 1 tsp dried oregano or 1 Tablespoon fresh oregano (substitute -- thyme, Italian seasoning) 
• 2 Tablespoons chopped parsley (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste

 Toasts:

• 5 ciabatta buns, slice in half length wise. Alternatively, use hamburger buns, day old French bread. 
• olive oil for brushing

Directions: 

1. Boil soaked white beans in fresh water for 30 minutes or until tender. Drain and set aside. Alternatively, use canned beans, drain and rinse them well -- set aside.
2. Using medium high heat in a heavy skillet, heat olive oil until it shimmers. Add onions, celery and carrots and saute for 5-10 minutes until onion is soft and other vegetables are starting to cook. 
3. Add garlic and allow to simmer for an additional 2-3 minutes. 
4. Add reserved cooked beans , tomato paste and 2 cups of the vegetable broth. Bring contents of the pan to a boil, reduce heat to maintain a simmer and cover. Cook for 15-20 minutes at a simmer or until vegetables are fork tender. 
5. Stir in 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese and cherry tomatoes and oregano. Turn heat off and add additional vegetable broth if it is really thick. There should be a bit of "runny" to the stew so it can soak into the bread base later. 
6. Preheat oven to 375 or turn on broiler. Alternatively, you can grill the bread on barbeque or in a dry fry pan. Whatever method works best for you, toast the bread and remove to a serving plate. 
7. Brush olive oil on each toast and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese while the bread is still warm from the oven. 
8. To serve, put toast in the bottom of a bowl and spoon the bean stew on top, letting the stew juices soften the toast. Top with additional Parmesan if desired. 
9. Leftover bean stew will keep in the refrigerator for 3 days; freezes for up to 3 months.

Quinoa and Sweet Potato Chili Recipe

The flavour of the sweet potato plays nicely with the spices in this warm and hearty dish. Photo source Wikipedia, used under creative commons.

Looking for something a little different to spice up your dinners during those rainy spring days? Crave comfort food that packs a nutritional punch? This Recipe was originally posted in "Unearthing the Mystery of Ancient Grains: An Introduction." 

Quinoa and Sweet Potato Chili Recipe

makes 6 hearty bowls of chili

1 can (19 oz/540 ml) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (5.2 oz/156 ml) tomato paste
4 1/4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into bite sized chunks
1 cup dry quinoa
salt and pepper to taste

Moroccan Chickpea Stew

1 can (540 ml) )chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 can (796 ml) diced tomatoes – I use no salt added

1 can (4.5 oz) green chilies

1/2 cup diced onions – about one small onion

2 stalks of celery diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup diced sweet potato (optional)

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp ground cumin

1/2 tbsp ground ginger

1 tbsp ground coriander

1/4 cup vegetable broth

4 or 5 frozen spinach pellets or ½ cup of chopped fresh spinach

½ chopped green sweet pepper

Salt and pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Saute garlic and onion in olive oil over medium heat for about two minutes.
2. Stir in cumin, ginger and coriander.
3. Add celery and cook until vegetables are tender.
4. Add chickpeas, vegetable broth, green chilies and tomatoes with juice and bring to a boil. Add sweet potatoes if using. Cover and simmer for ten minutes or until sweet potatoes are fork-tender. Add additional water or vegetable broth if it is too thick.
5. Option: stir in some frozen spinach pellets or add ½ green pepper, diced. Remove from heat and let flavours mingle for a few minutes before serving.
6. Serve alone or with brown rice and steamed green beans.