My husband’s mantra for vegetarian curries and dals is “lots of heat, lots of salt, lots of oil”. It works.
Baked with onion, molasses, and dry mustard. Mmmmm.
Paprika, onions, brown sugar, reduced red wine.
robardin, what’s a french oven? I have a dutch oven. That recipe looks fantastic, but 20? What do beans go for in your neck of the woods? That's like a 10-12 recipe here.
To my understanding, a “French oven” is a basically a Dutch oven that has an enamel covering, so you can do things like makes sauces and whatnot in it that are liquid-y. Apparently the right term is a “cast iron casserole”.
As for my recipe - I was going off of memory. As it turns out, my online grocer FreshDirect tallies it as about $26. It’s surprising how expensive the fresh produce is: the single bell pepper, one bunch of cilantro, onions and jalapeno peppers come to about 1/4 of the cost of the meal!
In order of expensiveness:
1 25 oz. jar of Cucina Antica Garlic Marinara sauce - $5.89
10 oz. block of Kraft Cracker Barrel 2% Extra Sharp Cheddar - $5.49
8 oz. bag of Polly-O Part-Skim Shredded Mozzarella - $4.79
1 Green Bell Pepper - $2.09
1 bunch of fresh cilantro - $1.99
1 16 oz. box of Barilla Elbow Macaroni - $1.59
1 can of Green Giant Whole Kernel Corn Niblets - $1.39
1/4 lb. (about 6) jalapeno peppers - $1.00
1 can of Goya Low-Sodium Black Beans - $0.99
2 small Yellow Onions - $0.79
Olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, oregano, etc., - assume I have these already
Total: about $26.00
I printed out that recipe last week. Now I’ll have to make it soon.
robardin, mine is enameled so I guess I’ve been calling it the wrong name all along! Yeah, the price of the sauce for me would be $2.50, the cheese $5 total and the pepper a buck, plus savings on other items, so more like $14. Sounds delicious, I think I’ll make it next week 
This sounds most EXCELLENT! I’ve got to try this soon.
Thanks!
Oh yeah, white beans. My recipe earlier was my go-to dish involving either or both black or red (kidney) beans… For white beans (cannellini), I go with:
1 16 oz. box of (whole wheat) penne pasta
1 can of Goya white beans, drained and rinsed
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 large yellow onion, diced
8-10 oz. of “baby bella” mushrooms, sliced or chopped
about 1 cup of chopped broccoli florets (heads)
3-4 tablespoons of Pesto sauce (more if you like more)
1-2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese (more if you like more)
In the same “French oven” casserole I have, I fry onions, peppers, mushrooms, broccoli and beans in olive oil and garlic; season with salt, pepper, oregano to taste. After the broccoli starts to soften, I add the cooked pasta and pesto sauce, sprinkle on the parmesan cheese, and stir. Pop in pre-heated oven (about 350F) for 5-10 minutes and done. In total, it takes about 20 minutes, 30 tops to make; serve with a nice cold Chardonnay. I also add crushed red pepper flakes but some people can’t take the spice (kids and/or wimps).
I usually make this with Italian sausage - either turkey or pork based, hot or sweet depending on who’s eating it - but it comes out very well even without the meat. Especially if instead of “ordinary” table salt or cooking salt, I use white truffle salt. Oh YEAH.
For white beans (also works with lentils or chickpeas), saute equal parts onion, carrot, and celery, finely chopped and seasoned with mixed Italian herbs, salt, and black pepper. The trick is to cook the vegetables over low heat until they caramelize and the bottom of your pan is coated in sticky brown bits. Tomato is optional - sometimes I add it, and sometimes I don’t.
Short answer: tomatoes.
When I’m using dry beans, I usually just cook the beans seperately (in a pressure cooker to save time, but not necessary) from whatever else, just to control things better. I mean, it’s not like I only own one pot or can only suspend one pot at a time over the small cooking fire in my fireplace.
For particulars, how about minestrone?
Cook white beans separately.
Saute (in olive oil), in the bottom of your soup pot, onions, carrots, celery, maybe some zuchinni or whatever other vegetables you have. Add lots of minced garlic right at the end, so it only sautes for 30 seconds or so.
Add water and crushed tomatoes, optionally a small-diced potato, oregano, basil and a bay leaf and drained white beans (and parmesan rinds if you have any)
Simmer until it’s soup.
Ten minutes before serving add small pasta (elbows or whatever).
Top with a drizzle of olive oil and grated cheese.
Or cuban black bean soup (onions, peppers, carrots, lots of cumin, crushed tomato, cooked black beans), topped with salsa and sour cream.
I like robardin’s pasta, though with tomatoes and garlic instead of pesto.
And if shellfish don’t count as meat, there’s a Mediterranean white bean and shrimp salad I like.
Sounds strange, but quick and oh, so good!
Marinara, Italian seasoning, cocktail sauce to taste.
Thats it.
Yummy bean flavored without meat? Here’s my recipe!
Bean of choice, I chose navy, once soaked over night to soften, rinsed, and ready to go, bring water to boil, pour beans in (beans should be submerged in water by a couple of inches only depending on how shallow and wide the pot/pan is)
Cover with lid and reduce heat to a simmer.
While beans simmer chop onion, garlic and additional vegetables of your choice. I chose corn, carrots, radish, red bell pepper. Store chopped veggies in fridge for a bit.
I usually do a half bean to half chopped veggies ratio since the veggies give so much flavor.
After the beans have been simmering for an hour and a half or so, test toughness. I pick a bean and chew it, should be soft enough to chew and bite, but not all the way cooked.
Heat a separate wide sauce pan that has a lid, retrieve chopped veggies, once pan is hot drizzle olive oil, dump chopped veggies in.
Keep on high heat to sweat chopped veggies and stir for a few minutes until slightly soft not mushy though. Then add pot of almost cooked beans with the water its been cooking in to vegetables.
Add vegetable broth, mix well, cover with lid, let simmer for about another half hour to 45 minutes. Adding more vegetable broth as needed and stirring every so often.
Once beans are fully cooked, add seasoning to taste. I like to use cajun spice, and meat tenderizer. Stir in spices and simmer for a 5 or so more minutes. So yummy!!
Amounts of water and time will vary depending on the beans, pot/pan, stove top etc.
Key is to babysit the beans and add water in the beginning gradually and frequently and add vegetable broth gradually and frequently once beans and veggies are combined.
Happy eating!
Oh wow, these ideas sound delicious!
A couple years ago I asked about Beans and Rice recipes, and received some nice ideas there, too.
I was about to say ----- just a dash of liquid smoke and a shot of hotsauce
Note that this is a 2011 vintage zombie thread.
That said, I love beans! Mark Bittman’s indispensable *How To Cook Everything Vegetarian * has a lot of good, easy recipes for beans. He suggests a lot of varieties of beans-n-greens and beans-n-shrooms that are super easy and tasty. Although dried beans give better results, I usually just use canned, and they’re fine.
Also, take a look at a few Indian cookbooks. If you can invest a bit more time, and some effort learning about the options at the Indian grocery, you can turn out some awesome curries once you get the hang of it. They can seem intimidating at first, but I cook a dal dish at least once a week, and I don’t even like cooking all that much. A South Indian style dal is lovely with some paratha.
Beans!!
I’m not really into beans, but I like hummus. Chickpeas are a bean, right?
Chickpeas are one of my favorites. Chickpea Soondal (chickpeas with shredded coconut) is super easy, especially if you used canned chickpeas, and is uniquely wonderful.
A tablespoon (or several) of good olive oil adds the unctuousness and mouthfeel of meat fat without the use of an actual soupbone.
I make a lot of Greek soups – white bean, pea, lentil – with aromatic veggies and a lollop of olive oil. They’re Lenten recipes, or possibly just for poor bastards who can’t afford a chunk of stringy ol’ meat.
I’ve also had wonderful meatless Tuscan white bean and green soup where you toss in the rind of your last piece of Parmesan.