Tag: beans

A Soulful Sunday by Slyvia Woods

.Reading time 4 minutes.

Serves: 6

When Nat and I were last in New York, we visited the famous Sylvia’s Restaurant in Harlem. An absolute institution serving soul food since 1963.

Obama at Sylvias.

We had an amazing meal of shrimp, fried chicken and grits and walked away with the cookbook. A book we hadn’t cooked from until today.

We almost always cook to a theme and this menu of soul food was absolutely on-point and so much fun. We even found a playlist of banjo ballads!

The boys loved it; especially the beans which alongside fish or a steak would be an excellent, contemporary meal. Don’t let the ingredients, process or sheer simplicity of it throw you.

Add some hot sauce, some mayonnaise and of course, BBQ sauce and well, this is a meal that is just good for your soul.

The Absolute Best Southern Fried Chicken by Julia Pressley

I have slightly adjusted this recipe by using chicken tenderloins rather than jointing a whole bird. Just a bit easier and healthier.

Ingredients

1kg chicken tenderloins
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper, divided
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp paprika
1 c vegetable oil

Method

  1. Pat dry the chicken. In a small bowl, combine the salt, 1 tsp black pepper and the garlic powder. Sprinkle over the chicken and let stand for 20 minutes or even better, overnight in the refridgerator.
  2. Place the flour, remaining 1/4 tsp black pepper and paprika into a heavy plastic bag. In batches, add the seasoned chicken and shake until each piece is covered with flour.
  3. In a large skillet, heat the oil over high heat until it bubbles when a little flour is sprinkled in. Add the chicken pieces and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for 7 minutes or until the chicken is browned on the bottom, flip and repeat. Remove from the skillet and drain on paper towels before serving.

String Beans with New Potatoes by Sylvia Woods

Ingredients

4 slices bacon
1/2 c chopped onion
250gm red potatoes cut into chunks
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 c boiling water
500gm string beans, ends trimmed

Method

  1. In a large skillet, cook the bacon until browned; remove from the skillet and crumble. Discard all but 2 tbsp of the bacon fat.
  2. Add the onion to the skillet and cook until softened. Stir in the potatoes, sugar, salt, pepper and water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.
  3. Add the strinf beans. Simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes longer or to desired doneness, stirring occasionally.

Golden Brown Macaroni and Cheese by Mattle Wilson

I’ve types up a few mac and cheese receipes and this one is equally as deserving a type. It isn’t deconstructed or containing truffle. It’s as bare bones as it gets and that’s why it’s so good.

Ingredients

500gm uncooked macaroni
4 tbsp butter
2 1/2 c grated mild Cheddar cheese, divided
2 large eggs
1/2 c milk
Paprika, for the top

Method

  1. Cook the macaroni until done, drain pour into a greased baking dish. Stir in the butter and 2 c of the Cheddar cheese.
  2. In a bowl, beat the eggs and then beat in the eggs. Add the mixture to the macaroni and stir through. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 c Cheddar cheese on top and dust with paprika. Bake, uncovered for 30 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the casserole is hot throughout.

Pinbone’s Peas, Beans, Ricotta and Mint Bruschetta

.Reading time 4 minutes.

Serves: 6

What an absolutely lovely, fresh way to kick off a lazy Sunday lunch.

Nat and I never went to the restaurant Pinbone, though we did have dinner at their successor – I Maccheroni – a few weeks back and it was a really lovely Italian meal.

For this dish, I started with the foccacia and as the non-bread maker in the family, this turned out to be a real trick. Though not in the tricky vein.

Follow the instructions, lose faith at some point, though watch the dough transform and transform and wow. An absolutely wonderful base for the dish, with just enough oil to be interesting, a cracking crust and a soft interior. Yum.

It’s then the simplicity of the ricotta and the peas and beans. You don’t really need four varieties here and I swapped out Italian beans for the broadbeans. Though add the olive oil, lemon juice and then the mint and a big paste of ricotta, and with a glass of Champagne… this is why life is so good.

And can be so simple.

If I showed up to lunch and was handed one of these with a glass of wine, wow. What a way to set the bar and clear intentions of the afternoon ahead.

Ingredients

50gm sugarsnap peas, coarsely chopped
50gm frozen baby peas
50gm podded broad beans (about 150gm unpodded) – I substituted Italian beans and coarsely chopped
50gm podded edamame*
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tbsp olive oil
150gm ricotta
1/4 cup mint, coarsely torn

Focaccia

460gm baker’s flour
1 tsp brown sugar
7gm (1 sachet) dried yeast
1/4 c extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve

Method


  1. For the focaccia, combine 450gm flour and 1 1/2 tsp salt in an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. Lightly whisk remaining flour, sugar and dried yeast in a separate bowl with 300ml lukewarm water, then leave until bubbles appear (5 – 7 minutes). Add oil to the yeast mixture, then, with the mixer on low speed, add yeast mixture to the flour and knwad until smooth and elastic (8 – 9 minutes). Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place until nearly doubled in size (20 – 30 minutes). Preheat the over to 230x. Gently knock back the dough, cover and prove until nearly doubled in size again (10 – 15 minutes). Transfer to a well-oiled 12cm x 23cm load pan**. Cover and leave to prove until about 1cm below top of tin (15 minutes), then bake until golden brown and the focaccia sounds hollow when tapped on the base (25 – 30 minutes). Cool on a rack (about 1 hour), then cut into 12 slices.
  2. Brinf a saucepan of salted water to the boil and blanch peas and bans for 20 – 30 seconds until bright green and still crunchy. Drain, then peel broadbeans and mix with lemon juice, oil and remaining peas and beans in a bowl and season to taste.
  3. Toast/grill the focaccia slices until well toasted.
  4. Spread the ricotta on focaccia, spoon pea and bean mixture on top, scatter with mint, extra virgin olive oil and serve.

* Frozen section of the supermarket.

** We’ve been baking our focaccias in a large, heavy skillet to great effect. Just keep and eye on it. These skillets get so hot, it brings forward the cooking time. This focaccia was done in 18 minutes in the skillet.

Bean and pork stew

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 4

Initially, I wasn’t sure if I’d type up this recipe.

But it seriously grows on you and the next day, Nat and I simultaneously messaged each other in disbelief at how good the stew was for lunch.

There is no question that as far as recipes I’d cook for a work lunch, this is one I would do again and again. And if you have followed this blog for a while, you’ll know that I try to put a bit of effort into workday lunches and often cook dishes especially for the weekday lunch run.

It is super healthy, it’s full of those beans we don’t get enough of and it would easily double and freeze.

It started life like a calf finding its feet for the first time, though once we had our head around this stew, it was all on!

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
125gm mild salami, chopped
2 x 350gm pork fillets, trimmed, cut into 3cm pieces
1 carrot, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
6 thyme sprigs, leaves chopped
2 sage leaves, finely chopped
1 ½ cups (375ml) chicken stock
250gm baby roma tomatoes, halved
2 x 400g cans butter beans
400g can red kidney beans
100g baby spinach leaves
Ciabatta to serve

Method

  1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a casserole dish over a high heat. Cook salami, stirring for 2 – 3 minutes until crisp, then remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel. Do not drain oil from pan.
  2. Season pork. In two batches, cook, turning for 2 – 3 minutes until golden.
  3. Reduce heat to medium and add the remaining 1 tbsp oil. Add the carrot, onion and celery and cook for 3 – 4 minutes until softened. Add garlic, thyme and sage and cook for 2 – 3 minutes until fragrant. Add the stock, tomatoes and beans, bring to the simmer and cook for 5 minutes or until flavours have infused. Return the pork to the pan and cook for a few more minutes, until the pork is cooked and the stew thickened. Stir through the spinach and remove from the heat.
  4. Scatter with the crisp salami and serve with toasted ciabatta.

Lamb braised with Vinegar and Green Beans

.Reading time 1 minute.

Serves: 4 -6

A traditional recipe from Abruzzo – where you would refer to the dish as stufatino di agnello con l’aceto – you will love.

Served with mashed potatoes and a green salad, it is beautifully comfortable food. Dark and slightly rich, you could eat the flaking lamb all day.

If you need warmth one Saturday lunch, start the weekend well by serving this and a glass of red and in turn, setting a pretty awesome mood for the rest of the day.

Ingredients

½ cup olive oil
1.2kg diced lamb shoulder
½ onion, chopped
⅔ cup good quality red wine vinegar
450gm green beans, trimmed, cut into 4cm lengths
Mashed potatoes and a green salad to serve

Method

  1. In a casserole dish or heavy saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Brown the lamb in batches for 6 – 8 minutes until browned all over.
  2. Add the onion and stir for 4 minutes or until translucent. Return all the lamb to the pan, add the vinegar and season. Increase the heat to high and cooking, stirring, for 1 minute, then reduce the heat to low. Add beans and further season. Cover and gently simmer for 1 ½ hoursor until the lamb is very tender.

Court’s Japanese Beans

.Reading time 1 minute.

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Don’t be stuck with boring beans again.

Serves: 4 – 6

Court(ney) is Nat’s younger sister and by some strange twist, the girlfriend of our 5-year old, Tom(ney).

Court is pretty efficient in the kitchen with a sort of take no prisoners, get-in-and-out approach to cooking. Beans are one of her specialities which ordinarily would be a pretty niche subset of cooking to specialise in, though once you cook this particular dish, you’ll understand why.

It’s awesome.

Just make sure you have the right mayonnaise: Kewpie Mayonnaise, a Japanese sushi mayonnaise that you can find at Woolies and Coles.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

Canola oil
Two or three good handfuls of beans
1 tsp freshly minced garlic
1 tsp Kewpie mayonnaise
Light soy sauce

Method

  1. Heat the oil in the pan until hot.
  2. Add the beans and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to cook for 10 minutes ensuring the garlic doesn’t burn.
  3. Add the mayonnaise and continue to cook for another 5 minutes; add a few splashes of soy sauce, turn up the heat and finish off.
  4. 幸せな食事*.

* Happy eating.