POLL - Beans: Side dish or star?

[Robin Garr]

Beans are low-fat and full of fiber and protein making them a healthy alternative to meat. There were several threads recently on "baked beans", and Celia discovered that they freeze well, too. Now my question is, do they just round out your meal or do they take center stage?

Here is a recipe from the food section of our newspaper this week. Would this be a main dish or a side on your table?


Cooking Healthy: Three kinds of beans key to quick dish

By Jim Romanoff
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Though sometimes called the “poor man’s meat,” beans are rich in protein and have plenty to offer a healthy diet.
Packed with fiber and other plant-based nutrients, beans are low-fat, can prolong the feeling of fullness after a meal, and help control blood-sugar levels. Many people won’t bother cooking dry beans, which can require soaking overnight and, depending on the variety, long cooking on the stove. But convenient canned beans are an essential for any pantry. The good news is that canned beans keep their nutrients during the canning process.

Beans can replace some or all of the meat called for in many dishes. They also can be pureed (with seasonings) to make quick dips and spreads. Or simply add some to a salad for extra protein, flavor and texture.

Be sure to always rinse and drain canned beans before using them to remove excess salt and indigestible sugars that are in the cloudy liquid.

This recipe for Triple-Bean Casserole uses three varieties of beans to make a colorful and quick stovetop dish that is reminiscent of baked beans. The recipe calls for crumbled, cooked bacon for flavoring. Despite the bacon, this dish still has just 4 grams of fat in each serving. To make a vegetarian version, simply leave it out the bacon or use diced, smoked tofu instead.

Triple-Bean Casserole

4 slices bacon
1 teaspoon canola oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
⅔ cup tomato ketchup
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons molasses
1½ teaspoons dry mustard
1 cup water
1 15½-ounce can great northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 15½-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 15½-ounce can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

Following the package directions, cook the bacon until crisp, then crumble and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, heat oil over low. Add onions and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes.

Add the ketchup, vinegar, molasses and mustard and stir together thoroughly. Add water, all the beans and bacon. Bring the beans to a simmer, cover and cook over low heat for 30 minutes.

Makes 6 servings.

Nutrition information for one serving: 278 calories; 4 g fat (1 g saturated); 6 mg cholesterol; 48 g carbohydrate; 15 g protein; 11 g fiber; 730 mg sodium.

[Robin Garr]

Beans are low-fat and full of fiber and protein making them a healthy alternative to meat. There were several threads recently on "baked beans", and Celia discovered that they freeze well, too. Now my question is, do they just round out your meal or do they take center stage?

The dish looks yummy, Linda!

Around here, where we try to do at least two or three meatless meals out of seven, beans almost always serve as the primary ingredient in a meatless main dish. We love them, but they seem plenty substantive to substitute for meat for me.

For this reason, I rarely make bean dishes with meat - if I'm going for it at all, I prefer taking advantage of their tasty proteins in a vegetarian meal. But I'm certainly not loath to enjoy meat-and-bean dishes at a local barbecue or Mexican joint.

This would be fun as a poll question ... may I add one to your original post?

This would be fun as a poll question ... may I add one to your original post?

You certainly may!

[Robin Garr]

You certainly may!

EX-cellent! Here it comes!

I'm in the main course camp. Like Robin, I try to mix in at least two or three meatless days per week, and beans make it easy to do.
I do have a few exceptions. Santa Maria barbecue, for instance, requires pinquito beans served as a side to the beef. But most often, beans are the sole protein on the plate.

Star ! We'll do a bean based minestrone style soup a couple of times a week. Much easier now I have frozen beans on hands. We keep navy beans, great northerns, four types of lentils, chick peas, chana dal, cannellini beans and dried soup mix in the pantry.

I was a vegetarian in the early 80s and am skewing that way again. Beans are a fantastic ingredient and usually take center stage.

That'd be a main dish for me.

-Paul W.

Loving them more and more. Add them to a salad to heft it up as a dinner salad. Always use multiple kinds in soup. Love them pureed with shallots or garlic and seasonings as a dip or for crostini. I have gotten into the habit of having a batch rehydrated, cooked in the fridge at the ready for last minute use. I also love sprouted beans especially garbanzos. You can sprout almost any dried bean - this has added a whole new taste and texture to our meals. I usually have something sprouted-ready to eat in the fridge and another batch coming along so I don't run out. Sprouts are even more nutritious and economical.
Great post and poll.

We love beans and I buy mine dry from Rancho Gordo....they are so fresh. I never soak them because they soften up after cooking a while in broth or water. I love to make chili style bean dishes, which would be the main dish. If I am making a meatless bean dish, I like to serve them with grilled chicken or pork chops. We like them in soups, as well. I've been searching for a baked bean dish that I love for years. I've tried all kinds of recipes and have not hit on the right combo. Not sure what it is that I do not like about the ones I've tried, but I think I am leaning toward the smokey flavor rather than so many sweet ingredients. Oh, and in winter when garden toms are not available, I like to use canned garbanzo and red kidney beans in our green salads.

Christina, I've gone of purchased sprouts (particularly alfalfa) in recent years because of the listeriosis risk. I hadn't considered sprouting my own - thanks for the suggestion...

Recipe report:

I made the Triple Bean Casserole, exactly as written. Something that rarely happens in my kitchen. We thought it was good, but a little on the sweet side, and the vinegar was too pronounced for our taste. I would make this again, tinkering around with the flavors and cutting back on the vinegar.

Here is a photo of the finished dish.

Celia, I stopped buying sprouts for the same reasons. It is so easy to do with total control of the process and you have a much greater variety of options than what is available in most stores. I have been ordering beans/seeds/nuts for sprouting from The Sprout People and have been happy with the seeds and mixes.

I also do sprouts. I use a piece of the leg from a new pair of nylon pantyhose over the mouth of the jar, secured with a rubber band. It gives a much better result than I used to get about 20 years ago with cheesecloth.

Eat beans a couple of days every week.

Grew up eating red beans and rice every Monday.

I have a dozen bean soups that I make with great regularity every winter. I always use fresh or dried beans. Never canned.

I also do sprouts. I use a piece of the leg from a new pair of nylon pantyhose over the mouth of the jar, secured with a rubber band. It gives a much better result than I used to get about 20 years ago with cheesecloth.

Didn't the cheesecloth chafe?

I have about 21 meatless meals per week, not including snacks.

For me, it's about 50/50. Garbanzos are a perfect example- as channa masala, they're a main, but I use them just as often for foul maddamas or hummous. I'll make lentil soup as a starter, but lentil-stuffed peppers as a main. And so on and so on.

I am having a serious jones for cannellini puree on toasted Italian bread, but am a week away from being near a kitchen, dammit.

I guess I am in the minority here...but beans rarely, if ever take center stage here. My husband does not like them at all...except for Heinz vegetarian baked beans as a side to some sausages or with breakfast eggs and toast. I do make rice, beans, and spinach for the children once a week. As for myself, I like beans, but don't love them. I eat a lot of hummus, and (look away Robert) put beans in my chili. I will also eat a few spoonfuls as a side dish at a BBQ, and will use lentils or chickpeas when making a curry, but that's it.

My problem is a grew up eating lentil soup and pasta fagioli (or fazool as we called it) ALL the time...and I just got so sick of it. My Dad does like beans for the same reason.

Christina and Cynthia - What are sprouted beans? How do you make them? I love sprouts...are they similar?

Maria, you can sprout just about any dried bean as well as seeds. They are very nutritious and it is ridiculously easy to do. Lots of info here : http://www.sproutpeople.com . Do NOT use beans that are meant for planting in the ground - they are treated with fungicides and other chemicals.

Main dish & side dish..both.

This is a great dish that we make all the time. (yeah..it would be better to use dried bean and cook, but the canned variety makes this a quick meal for work night). There are hundreds of versions of ribollita out there.

Ribollita

Ingredients

1 loaf Ciabatta Bread (or any rustic loaf)
2 strips bacon ( can use butter or olive oil)
3 carrots, coarsely chopped
1 onion, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 tsp red pepper flakes (or to taste)
2 tblsp Tomato paste (I use a double strength version called “Amore” that I find in the Italian section)
1 x 15-16 oz can chopped tomatoes
2 x 15-16 oz cans cannellini beans (white beans)
2 large cartons chicken stock
Parmesan reggiano
1 pkg ( about 2 cups) defrosted frozen spinach (I use frozen spinach mostly, but I’ve used collard or mustard greens also. I’ve even use frozen peas)
Salt & Pepper to taste

~ Render bacon ( or heat butter or oil) in large soup pan or dutch oven

~ Saute chopped carrots,onions and garlic w/ red pepper flakes until garlic begins to brown

~ Add tomatoe paste and stir until well mixed. Continue heating for a couple of minutes.

~ Add canned tomatoes, stir

~ Add beans, stir

~ Add 2 large cartons of chicken stock

~ Add a 1” x 1” x 3” rectangular piece of Parmesan Reggiano (I use parmesan reggiano rinds for this purpose. If I don’t have a rind, I’ll just cut a large chunk off of whatever piece I’ve got.

~ Season to taste w/ dried oregano, basil & parsley ( I use about 2 heaping tblsp of oregano and about half that of the others…but use you own judgment)

~ Season w/ salt & black pepper to taste.

~ Simmer for 20 minutes or so.

~ Add Frozen green of your choice (defrosted) (Spinach usually for us)

~ Bring back to a simmer and simmer for another 15 minutes ( or until you are finished with the next step)

~ While simmering, preheat oven to 425 deg F, slice the bread into 1” slices and lay on a cookie sheet. Drizzle(medium heavy)the tops of the slices with extra virgin olive oil and put on middle rack. Bake about 15-20 minutes. ( Check doneness by turning over a slice of bread. Should be well browned on the down side. Remove grilled bread from oven and let cool.

~ Once the bread is cool enough to handle, take a raw peeled garlic clove and rub the browned surface of each slice of bread.

To Serve:

Lay 2 pieces of grilled bread atop each other in a medium bowl ( like an X) , then ladle hot soup over the grilled bread, add some grated parmesan reggiano, season w/ salt & pepper.

Serve with almost any rustic red. I usually use chianti though.

Richard

I love 'em and will eat them either way. Just don't go puttin' 'em in Chili .

rwj

Eat beans a couple of days every week.

Grew up eating red beans and rice every Monday.

I have a dozen bean soups that I make with great regularity every winter. I always use fresh or dried beans. Never canned.

Chef,

Winter is over, but it's never too warm for bean soup. Please post your recipes unless they are closely guarded secrets.

I love 'em and will eat them either way. Just don't go puttin' 'em in Chili .

rwj

I will put them in my chili until the day I stop cooking....it is not chili unless it has beans!

Eat beans a couple of days every week.

Grew up eating red beans and rice every Monday.

I have a dozen bean soups that I make with great regularity every winter. I always use fresh or dried beans. Never canned.

Chef,

Winter is over, but it's never too warm for bean soup. Please post your recipes unless they are closely guarded secrets.

Gimmie a day or two, Bob, I have no closely guarded secrets - when it comes to cooking.