Green Beans with Garlic and Tomato

Jeffrey asked me to cook the green beans while he was grilling up some pork ribs.  I decided to try a recipe from Serving Up the Harvest: Celebrating the Goodness of Fresh Vegetables.  I started off with Andrea Chesman's Green Bean Saute with Garlic and Tomato, but found that it was a little bland for our tastes.  Also, it seems like most contemporary recipe writers like crunchy green beans.  What is up with that?!?  I know, I know, it's not hip to cook them until they're done.  I admit that I'm completely out of sync with such fads.

In my opinion, a short cooking time might work with skinny little beans, but the beans at hand were hearty, fresh-picked, full-grown specimens, and they would have been tough and undercooked if I'd followed the author's cooking method, which was 3 minutes in a water bath and three minutes in the skillet.  Jeffrey and I also were in agreement that the garlic was way too subtle, as was the oregano.  So here is our livelier, fully-cooked version:

Garlicky Green Beans with Tomato

1 pound fresh green beans, ends trimmed
2 medium size tomatoes, chunked or about four handfuls of cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered
2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teasoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon coarsely-ground black pepper
 sea salt to taste

1.  Bring a medium pot of water to a boil.  Add the green beans and simmer until they are cooked to your taste ( I check them after 15 minutes).  Drain.

2.  While the beans cook, chunk (or quarter) the tomatoes and finely chop the fresh oregano.

3.  Make sure everything is ready, this step goes quickly:   When the beans are cooked and drained, heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet.  Add the garlic and cook for one minute, stirring constantly to prevent burning.  Add the green beans, tomato and oregano.  Cook just until the beans are heated through.

4. Season with lemon juice, pepper, and sprinkle of sea salt.  Serve immediately.

Cooking note:  I am a big fan of sea salt.  It seems like it dissolves differently, and just tastes better than plain table salt.  Try it, see what you think!

Jalapeno Black Beans and Corn

The February 2011 issue of Cuisine at Home featured a recipe that looked pretty good, for a Black Bean Saute.   I liked the basic idea of the recipe printed there, but thought it would benefit from a few changes.  My version of the recipe is presented below.

The dish is pretty straight-forward:  fry up some onion and jalapenos, then add seasonings, black beans and corn, stir it all together until heated through, and you've got a nice, Mexican-style vegetarian side dish.

This dish marks the first time I've used one of the spices that is featured in this dish:  Epazote.   Having used it and having liked the results, I think this one will make a nice addition to our collection of seasonings. 

This dish is a winner:  Fast and easy dish to put together, and really tasty.   I served it along with Gambas al Ajillo, and it went quite nicely with that spicy shrimp dish.  Juli liked it quite a lot.  I cook Mexican dishes on a semi-regular basis, and since it's nice to have some Mexican side dishes to fall back on besides such standards as Spanish (or Mexican) rice and refried beans, I think this is a dish I'll be making again in the future.

Jalapeno Black Beans and Corn

yield = 2 servings

1               tablespoon canola oil
1               small yellow onion, diced
1               jalapeno, seeded and minced
1/2            teaspoon ground cumin
1               bay leaf
1 1/2         teaspoons minced garlic
1/2            teaspoon epazote
1               can (15 ounces) black beans, drained and rinsed
1               cup frozen corn kernels
1/4            cup chopped scallions
2               teaspoons fresh lime juice
                 freshly-ground black pepper and table salt to taste

Heat the oil in a small skillet or saucepan over medium-high heat.  When the oil is shimmering, add onion, cumin and bay leaf.  Cook, stirring often, until the onion softens (about 5 minutes).

Add garlic and epazote and cook until fragrant (about 45 seconds).  Stir in black beans, corn and scallions and cook to heat through.  Discard bay leaf.   Stir in lime juice and season to taste with pepper and salt.  Serve.

This Month's Work Potluck

My workplace has a potluck lunch once a month, usually with a theme of some sort.  This time around the theme was picnic food.   People brought a variety of things to share, ranging from hot dogs to potato salad to chips and dip.  There were also several desserts, and one of the administrators brought tall glasses, a large carton of vanilla ice cream and some root beer so we could make root beer floats.

This time around I mixed up a batch of my Zesty Baked Beans.  I made them exactly as written in the printed recipe, save that I drained and rinsed an extra can of black beans and tossed them in. 

The beans tasted great, and they were quite popular.  I'm not surprised... bacon, molasses, brown sugar, chipotle and rich seasonings... how could they not be good?  Several people commented on them, and there wasn't much left over, which I take as the best indicator of how good they were.

Boston-Style Baked Beans

I'm really, really ready for winter to be over.   I'm ready for spring, and barbecuing. 

I've thought about grilling up some burgers for awhile now, and I'll probably do that as soon as I get my grill out for the Spring, but for now I decided I'd try some different types of burgers (more about them in another post), and pan-fry them.  Pan-cooked burgers aren't nearly as good as grilled ones - it's no contest, really - but they'd have to do for now.  Thinking about burgers also got me thinking about some of my favorite burger sides, including baked beans, and as soon as I had decided it was time to make some burgers, I knew I'd want some beans with them.

I considered making up another batch of my Zesty Baked Beans, but decided instead to go with a more basic bean recipe.   I checked out several recipes for maybe the most basic version of baked beans, Boston Baked Beans, and decided to make something along those lines.    After studying the recipes I had on hand, I picked out the common features, considered (but mostly rejected) some of the more unusual ingredient options, and tossed in a few of my own touches to make a recipe from which to work. 

I knew right away I wanted to start out with dried beans, because boiling them with flavorful ingredients would make them taste great, and they'd still be firm enough when they went into the oven for a long time at a low temperature that they wouldn't be cooked to mush by the time they were ready to serve. 

Instead of the traditional salt pork, I used bacon in preparing the beans.  Juli and I had noticed a new brand of artisan bacon in the local market, and it looked pretty good, so I used that.   It was a good choice, as this applewood bacon had a really nice flavor.   I'll be buying that brand again.

In terms of technique, there's nothing particularly unusual about these baked beans.   Fry up some bacon, fry up some onions and seasonings in the bacon grease, add the beans, some molasses and brown sugar, some seasonings and water, bring it to a boil, then toss it in the oven to cook for a few hours, cooking it uncovered at the end to thicken and brown the sauce.  I did use some ingredients that aren't common to the more traditional recipes, though.  These include garlic, a sprig of thyme, a bay leaf and a splash of Worcestershire sauce.  I think these additions made for a better pot of beans.  Traditionalists would probably disagree, but since I wasn't inviting any traditionalists over, I didn't worry too much about that.

Juli and I both liked the beans quite a bit.  They had a rich, smoky flavor, with enough savory elements that the sweetness wasn't overpowering, and the beans themselves were perfectly cooked, neither mushy nor mealy.  They went well with the burgers, and this recipe is good enough that I'll likely revisit it when I fire up my grill for the first barbecue of the spring. 

Boston-Style Baked Beans

yield = approx. 6 servings

6           ounces thick-sliced bacon, cut into 1/2 inch slices
1           medium yellow onion, chopped fine
1           teaspoon minced garlic
1/4        teaspoon cayenne pepper
1           pound dried small white or navy beans
1/2        cup dark molasses
1/4        cup dark brown sugar
2           tablespoons spicy brown mustard
1           tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1           sprig fresh thyme
1           bay leaf
1           teaspoon salt
1           teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
9           cups water

Adjust oven rack to middle position.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Rinse and pick over beans, then set aside.

Heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat.  Once hot, add the bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat has started to render.  Stir in the onions and cook until the onions are lightly browned and the bacon well-cooked (but not burnt), about 7 minutes.   Add the garlic and cayenne and cook 30 seconds.

Add the beans, molasses, sugar, mustard, Worcestershire, thyme, bay leaf, salt and black pepper.  Stir to mix, then add and stir in the water.  Adjust heat to medium high and bring to a boil.   Cover the Dutch oven and put it in the oven.  

After two hours, stir the bean mixture and remove the bay leaf and thyme sprig. 

Cook another two hours, stir and remove the lid.  Continue to bake until the sauce has thickened into deep brown syrup.  Remove from oven, let cool 10 minutes or so, then serve.

Hearty Bean Soup

This soup recipe started as something my son's second grade class made while studying cooking and nutrition.  Each kid was sent home with a jar of beans and spices and some simple instructions, and the parents were to work with the child to prepare a soup using those ingredients and instructions, plus a few other staple ingredients noted in the instructions. 

That recipe made a simple but tasty bean soup.  I liked it quite a bit, and over the years I've revisited the recipe many times, customizing it to my taste over that period of time.   I made it again recently, for the first time in a few years, and after a bit more customization reflecting what I've learned about cooking over time, I'm even happier with it now than ever before.
First you make a simple beef broth by boiling a meaty soup bone (and, optionally, some marrow bones), skimming off the gunk that collects at the top, spooning off the fat and straining the broth before returning it to a stock pot with whatever bits of meat you can salvage from the bone.  That's pretty much all that was done in the original recipe, but the beef flavor was rather lacking in that version.  That's not too surprising, since it takes a fair bit of beef to make a hearty, beefy stock just by boiling meat and bones.  Over the years, I've punched up the meaty flavor by adding some soup base and this time - reflecting one of the standard Cook's Illustrated techniques - combining a bit of chicken stock with the beef stock.  

When I first read about this, I was suspicious, but the CI people are spot-on... combining the chicken stock (or broth) with the beef stock amps up the meaty flavor without making it taste like chicken soup. 

From there, one tosses in a few cups of beans, split peas and lentils, some seasonings and some sauteed vegetables, lets it all simmer for a couple hours, and voila!  You've got a tasty bean, beef and vegetable soup.   By cooking it long enough for the split peas to have mostly broken down and the lentils to have started doing so, you end up with a hearty soup with a thick broth.  It serves up great with a crusty bread, which comes in handy for sopping up the broth. 

Hearty Bean Soup

yield = 8-10 servings

1          1 1/2-2 pound meaty beef soup bone
2 1/2    pounds beef marrow bones (optional)
13        cups water
3          cups chicken stock (or broth)
10        teaspoons beef soup base
            (if you are using marrow bones, you need
             only 8 teaspoons soup base)
1 1/4    cups pinto beans
1          cup lentils (brown, or other variety)
1          cup split peas
1/2       cup great northern or navy beans
1/2       cup reed kidney beans
2          teaspoons dried parsley flakes
1 1/2    teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
1 1/2    teaspoon table salt
1 1/2    teaspoon dried dill weed
1          teaspoon celery seed
1          teaspoon dried sage
1          teaspoon dried thyme
1/4       teaspoon crushed red pepper
2          tablespoons vegetable oil
1          cup finely chopped carrot
1          cup finely chopped celery
1          cup finely chopped onion
5          teaspoons minced garlic
1          15-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained

Beef soup bone and marrow bones.

Add the soup bone, marrow bones (if using) and water to a large stock pot.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer and allow to simmer one hour, skimming the foam occasionally.  Remove the soup and marrow bones.  Pull the meat away from the bone, removing gristle and excess fat, and discard all of the bones.  Let the broth cool a bit, skim off fat, then strain the broth and return it to the stock pot,  Return the shredded meat to the pot.  Add the chicken stock and soup base and start to reheat.

Pour the beans, split peas and lentils into a collander to rinse and pick over (it isn't that unusual to find small bits of gravel in bags of dried beans).  Add the beans, peas and lentils to the stock pot along with the parsley flakes, pepper, salt, dill, celery seed, sage, thyme and crushed red pepper.  Heat to a simmer.

Meanwhile, heat the vegetable oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat.  When the oil is hot, add the carrot, celery and onion and cook until the onion is clear and all the vegetables are softened (5-6 minutes).  Add the garlic, cook one minute, then stir the contents of the skillet into the stock pot along with the tomatoes.

Simmer partially-covered for 2 - 2 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.  Taste, adjust seasonings as desired and serve with a crusty bread. 

Zesty Baked Beans

When I decided last weekend to barbecue a couple racks of ribs, I also decided to make some baked beans to go with them.  There are lots of ways to cook baked beans, and a lot of them turn out pretty good. but I knew I wanted something a bit more interesting than the typical "toss a couple cans of pork and beans in a casserole with an onion, some brown sugar and a bit of molasses" baked beans. 

I thought a lot about what sort of beans to include.  I thought baked beans based on chili beans might be interesting, but they might end up tasting too little like baked to really go with the ribs.  Finally I realized that rather than use just one kind of bean, it might make for a more interesting dish, in terms of flavor, texture and appearance, to use a mix of beans.   Once I came up with that, the spices and sauce ingredients were fairly obvious, though at the last minute I decided the dish needed a bit of chipotle zing.

From there, it was just a matter of coming up with some starting ratios and adjusting things as I went to get the right mix of flavors, the right level of heat and so forth.   The result... well, I would have to say, these are among the best baked beans you're likely to find (or make) anywhere.  They went great with the ribs.  I think I'll be making these often; in fact, I'm probably going to bring some to my next work potluck.

Zesty Baked Beans

yield - 12 side-dish servings

1/2     pound bacon
1        large white onion, chopped fine
2        cans pork and beans, undrained
1        can chili beans, undrained
1        can black beans, drained and rinsed
1        can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1        cup packed brown sugar
1/2     cup barbecue sauce
1/4     cup molasses
1        tablespoon diced chipotle pepper + 1 teaspoon adobo sauce
1 1/2  teaspoon ground cumin
1 1/2  teaspoon mustard powder
1        teaspoon oregano, crushed
1/8     teaspoon cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Fry bacon in a Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp.  Fry in batches, and remove cooked bacon to a plate covered with paper towels.

Drain and discard all but two tablespoons of the bacon grease.   Reheat the bacon grease and add the onions.  Cook, stirring often, until the onions start to brown.  Meanwhile, break the bacon into one-inch pieces.

Ready to go into the oven.

When the onions have lightly browned, add the other ingredients.  Stir to mix, then bake uncovered 2 1/2-3 hours or to desired consistency, stirring occasionally.  Serve.

Fresh out of the oven.

Jamaican Rice and Peas

Beans and rice is one of my favorite basic food combinations, and when I was planning a Jamaican meal, I knew I wanted to include that island nation's version.  The basic dish - onions, rice, beans and spices cooked in broth and coconut milk - is something common to a lot of cuisines (Indian, Thai, Polynesian, Central American, Cuban), but the Jamaican version stands out largely due to the prominence of thyme and the presence of very hot peppers.  Well, and calling beans "peas."  I don't know where that came from. 

There are a lot of versions of this dish out there, mostly pretty much the same.  Some of them add ginger, and that sounded good to me.  I came up with an idea on my own, though, one I haven't seen in any other recipe for the dish.  Most of the recipes add the whole pepper when adding the liquid that ends up getting absorbed by the rice.  This imparts a bit of flavor to the recipe, but I thought it something of a waste of a potent pepper, so I decided to add it while frying the garlic and rice, which would release more of the flavor and heat into the dish while still not being overwhelming. 

I didn't happen to have a Scotch bonnet chili pepper on hand, unfortunately.  That famous Jamaican pepper is lots hotter than a habanero, but a habanero does the trick just fine in this recipe.   Definitely don't go with anything less spicy than a habanero, though.  Aside from being too mild, jalapeno and Serrano peppers just don't have the right flavor for this dish.

This turned out quite well - tender and flavorful, with an undercurrent of heat - and went well with the other dishes.  It makes for a good side dish, but since the rice + beans combination makes a complete protein, one could make a complete and balanced meal by serving it along with a salad or vegetable side.

Note:  You can use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth to make this a vegetarian dish.

Jamaican Rice and Peas

yield = 6 servings

2       tablespoons vegetable oil
1       small yellow onion, minced
2       cups long-grain rice
2       teaspoons minced garlic
1       whole habanero or Scotch bonnet pepper
1       tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1       teaspoon lime zest
1       15-ounce can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2       sprigs fresh thyme (or 2 teaspoons dried thyme)
2       cups coconut milk
1       cup chicken broth
1       cup water
1       teaspoon salt
1       lime, halved (use the same one the zest came from)
3       green onions (green parts only), cut crosswise into thin slices

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add the onions and saute until they just begin to brown. 

Add the garlic, rice and whole chili pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until the rice turns a light golden-brown. 

Add the grated ginger and lime zest and cook 1 more minute, then add the kidney beans, thyme sprigs, coconut milk, broth, water and salt.  Bring to a boil then cover and reduce heat to a simmer. 

Cook for 15 minutes, then remove from heat.  Before serving, discard the thyme sprigs, fluff the rice with a fork and garnish with the cut green onions and the boiled chili pepper - but don't eat the pepper unless you have a very high heat tolerance!

Tropical Black Beans and Rice

In making yesterdays' tropical feast, I wanted a side dish that would complement the spicy pineapple slices and glaze of the featured recipe, Caribbean-Style Pork Chops with Rum-Pineapple Sauce.  Also, I hadn't either made or had black beans in rice for awhile.  So, the big question for me was how to prepare the beans and rice.

Beans and rice, individually or in combination, are very versatile foods.  They can be used for a variety of purposes, and can be prepared in any number of ways... Cuban style, African style, souther-style, Cajun-style dirty rice and beans, you name it.   The variety comes largely from three factors:  what spices and seasonings you use, what else you put in the mix and what sorts of liquid(s) one uses to cook the rice.

The question of spice was a pretty easy one.  I knew I wanted something that would go with the spices used in making the main-course pork chops, but that I didn't want to compete with the jerk seasonings of the meat.  Allspice seemed the best bet, as it would add a bit of zestiness without really standing out, and a touch of salt is pretty much a given.   As to other ingredients, for the sort of effect I had in mind, onions fried in some sort of oil were an obvious source.   I decided to fry them in butter to give the dish a bit of savory undertone, and because I didn't plan to cook them for very long before adding the liquid.  A bit of garlic seemed like a good addition.   Now it came to the big question:  Did I want a complete contrast with the spiciness of the main dish, or did I want the beans and rice to complement the pork chops by virtue of its own qualities?  Already having figured out what I wanted to use as liquid, I went the "stand on its own" route, so I decided to mince up a habanero and fry it up with the onions. 

As to the liquid, I knew from the start I wanted to cook the rice in chicken broth or stock in order to make the rice creamy and hearty.  However, chicken-flavored-rice reminds one more of the sort of side dish one makes from a packet or small box purchased in the grocery store than it does "tropical", so I went with some coconut milk as well, to make the rice even creamier and to add more of a tropical, fruity flavor.  Liking that idea, I decided to add a bit of lemon zest toward the end to add a bit more of a fruity and slightly sour element.   As a last decision, I decided to go with fragrant jasmine rice over standard long-grain rice mostly on a whim, because I hadn't cooked anything using jasmine rice in awhile.  It turned out to be a good choice.

Tropical-Style Black Beans and Rice
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1       small onion, diced
1       habanero pepper, seeded and minced fine
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 1/4 cups chicken broth or stock
1 3/4 cups coconut milk
2       cups uncooked jasmine rice
1.4    teaspoon salt
2       cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2    teaspoon lime zest
1/4    teaspoon ground allspice
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped cilantro to garnish, if desired

Heat the butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat.  When the butter is hot, add the onion and habanero pepper.  Cook, stirring often, 4 minutes. When the onion has turned clear, add the garlic and continue to cook, stirring often, for 2 more minutes. 

Add chicken broth, coconut milk, rice and salt.  Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, then cover and reduce heat to low.  When the rice has absorbed most of the liquid, stir in the black beans, lime zest and allspice, then cover and continue to cook until all liquid is absorbed. 

Note: 
I noted in the recipe for the chops that one might choose different sorts of chilis, based on personal heat preference, but in this case, if you want the heat to show up at all given the presence of the coconut milk and the amount of rice and beans, it is important to use a pretty hot pepper.  At the same time, one doesn't want things too hot (like, say, a Scotch bonnet pepper) for risk of throwing off the balance of flavors.  So, for this recipe, sticking with the habanero seems the best choice.

As shown below, on the plates I served up the chops topped with the fried pineapples and the sauce atop a mound of rice.  The two worked together great, so I'd say this recipe was a success.