Category: Beans

Hearty Tuscan Bean Stew

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Hearty Tuscan Bean Stew

  • Servings: 9 Servings
  • Difficulty: Easy
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This makes a great fall stew. If you grow your own kale, this is a hearty vegetable that grows well into late fall. We found this recipe to be hearty, filling and cozy.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb dried cannellini beans (about 2 cups), rinsed and picked over
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
  • 6 ounces pancetta, cut into 1/4-inch pieces (we used thick cut bacon)
  • 1 large onion, chopped medium (about 1 1/2 cups)
  • 2 medium celery ribs, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 3/4 cup)
  • 2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 1 cup)
  • 8 medium garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
  • 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 3 cups water
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 bunch kale (about 1 lb), stems trimmed and leaves chopped into 1-inch pieces (about 8 cups loosely packed)
  • 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained and rinsed
  • 1 sprig fresh rosemary
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. In nonstick pan, heat oil and cook bacon until crispy. Remove the bacon but keep the fat and oil in the pan.
  2. Add onion, carrots and celery and cook on medium high heat until onion is translucent. Usually about 5 minutes.
  3. Add garlic and cook until it starts to brown.
  4. Place all the ingredients into a slow cooker.
  5. Cook on high for 6 hours or slow for 8 hours.

Nutrition Per Serving

  • Calories 468
  • Fat 18 g
  • Sugar 6 g
  • Carbohydrates 6.25 g
  • Protein 19.25 g
  • Fibre 4.65 g

This was a fun experiment for me. I was trying to find a way to use up the kale. There were three people at the table, who are not the biggest fans of kale and they liked this. I used a mixture of green and purple kale. You could use collard greens, or even swiss chard. This is where you can have fun and make it your own.

British Homemade Baked Beans

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British Homemade Baked Beans

  • Servings: 6
  • Difficulty: Easy
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Baked beans, something a lot of Quebecers love. The traditional recipe has lots of molasses and brown sugar. I was looking for something that would have a little less sugar. After a some research I came across a few different recipes for British Baked Beans. This is a tomato based recipe. I had never had these so I thought, what the heck. Turns out this is quite good.

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp of olive oil
  • 1/2 red onion finely chopped
  • 1 garlic clove finely chopped
  • 1/2 tsp of sea salt
  • 1/4 tsp of pepper
  • 2 tsp of sugar (preferably brown)
  • 1/2 tsp of smoked paprika
  • 1/2 tsp of dried oregano
  • 1/2 tsp of worcestershire sauce
  • 800 gr of cannellini beans or navy beans canned (see below for raw beans)
  • 400 ml of Passata (or ground or crushed tomatoes in a can, more economical)
  • 1 tbsp of tomato paste
  • 1 tbsp of parsley (optional)

Directions

  1. Heat the oil in a large pan and cook the red onion and garlic over medium heat for 5 minutes.
  2. Add salt, pepper, sugar, smoked paprika, and oregano to the onion mixture.
  3. Pour in the passata, worcestershire sauce, and drained and rinsed beans.
  4. Simmer for 15 minutes or until you achieve your required sauce thickness.

Nutritional facts per serving

  • Calories 242
  • Fat 3 g
  • Sugar 5 g
  • Carbohydrates 42 g
  • Protein 14 g
  • Fibre 10 g

This was pretty easy. I personally don’t like canned beans so I used raw. I soaked them overnight. Then simmered them for about 1-1/2 hours or until they were tender but not quite mushy. To get 800 gr you need 650 gr of raw beans. I also used cannellini beans. If you are someone who likes beans but is watching your sugar and fat intake, this is the recipe to go with.

This goes great with breakfast for extra protein, with lunch as a side, or served with toast. Of course, if you want some spice you can always add some hot peppers. How you serve it, when you serve it, or with what you serve it, is all up to you. Just have fun and make it your own.

Razmah

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Razmah

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: Easy
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I am always open to new ideas, recipes and international foods. A friend of mine gave me a recipe book for Christmas called “On the Himalayan Trail by Romy Gill”. I am proud to say I’m sharing my first Kashmiri recipe. This may be my first but won’t be my last out of this book.

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp of ghee (I used olive oil)
  • 6 green cardamon pods
  • 4 black cardamon pods
  • 1 3 inch cinnamon stick
  • 3 dried bay leaves
  • 2 tsp of dried ginger
  • 1 tsp of ground fennel
  • 1 tsp of ground tumeric
  • 2 tsp of kashmiri chilli powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp of tomato paste
  • 1 1/2 cups of dried kidney beans soaked overnight, then drained and cooked until tender.
  • 4 cups of water
  • 2 cups of cooked basmati rice

Directions

  1. Heat the oil in large pan over medium heat.
  2. Add the whole spices and bay leaves and fry for 1 minute.
  3. Add the ground ginger, fennel, tumeric, chilli powder and salt.
  4. Stir together and add the cooked kidney beans and tomato paste and cook over a high heat for a couple of minutes.
  5. Add the hot water and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover and cook for 15 minutes stirring occasionally.
  6. Remove from heat and leave to rest for 30 minutes before serving with rice.

Nutritional facts


– Calories 376
– Fat 4.5 g
– Sugar 2 g
– Carbohydrates 64 g
– Protein 18.7 g
– Fibre 18.7 g

While resting, the beans soak up the beautiful juices and the dish becomes more flavourful. I made a mistake by discarding some of the juices as I thought it was too wet, my bad, won’t make that mistake again. You can add more tomato paste and tomatoes while making the base but make sure you check for acidity and you may need to add some sugar. You can also used canned beans to save time. You have try this and remember to have fun and make it your own.

Mexican Rice and Bean Casserole

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Mexican Rice and Bean Casserole

  • Difficulty: Easy
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I take recipes and modify them for personal tastes, dietary demands and such. Sometimes it’s just ‘cause I want to have fun with the recipe. That is why I encourage you to modify to your tastes, and remember to try something new.

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp of vegetable oil
  • 1 cup of water
  • 1 large onion chopped
  • 3 garlic clove minced
  • 2 cups of sliced mushrooms
  • 2 large sweet green peppers chopped
  • 1 large sweet red pepper chopped
  • 1.5 cups of white rice
  • 2 cups of cooked red kidney beans (I prepare my own ahead of time and freeze them, if you use canned make sure to rinse and it would be approximately 1.5 cans of 28 oz/796 ml)
  • 1 can of diced tomatoes 28 oz/796 ml
  • 2 tbsp of chilli powder
  • 1 tbsp of cumin
  • 1 tsp of cayenne pepper (oh, i really added 2 but shush)
  • 1 cup of low-fat shredded low fat mozzarella cheese

Directions

  1. In a large dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, mushrooms and peppers. Stir often until onion is tender about 10 minutes.
  2. Add rice, beans, tomatoes, spices and water, cover and simmer until rice is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed, about 25 minutes.
  3. During that time preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  4. Sprinkle cheese and bake for 15 minutes or so until the cheese melts.

Nutrition Per Serving

  • Calorie 380
  • Fat 6.5 g
  • Carb 64.2 g
  • Sugar 7.3 g
  • Fiber 9.0 g
  • Protein 17.1g

As you see I prefer to cook my own kidney beans, you can soak them overnight and cook them for approximately 90 minutes. I don’t add salt. I rinse them thus giving less gas.

If you are diabetic, this is not a recommended recipe as is, as your carb intake should be 45-60 so this is a little high. But if you interested, I can supply a lower glycemic version with less rice and more kidney beans. Kidney beans can be of help to reduce your sugar spike due to its low carb and high fibre. Just let me know.

Now you have to have a few more veggies with this, I would recommend a nice salad to go with this. I like spicy so I am very generous with cayenne. You can spice it up or down. That’s up to you. Remember to have fun and make it your own.