Beans And Greens

Yesterday in the mail I received my March issue of Cooking Light magazine.  I was rather excited to get it, and sat down with a mug of tea to pour through and look it over.  It’s very interesting to read food magazines right now, because it’s very obvious that they are listening to their readers and the economy.  This issue of CL has many recipes for pasta, beans, slow cooker dishes, all economical and budget friendly.  I’ve found the same thing to be true of Everyday Food and Taste of Home- they’re all trying to keep their budget conscious readers in mind, and I really appreciate that.

There was one recipe in particular that called to me yesterday from the magazine, and it was one for Seared Scallops with Warm Tuscan Beans.  Really, it was the photo that drew me in.  Not so much of the scallops, (although I love scallops), but of the bean and spinach mixture underneath it.  It just looked so warm and homey, and absolutely delicious.  I thought it was a shame it was paired with scallops, because those are not in my budget, nor do I have easy access to them.  As the day went on, I kept thinking about that recipe- it’s not very often that happens.  I thought about pulling out a few other cookbooks to see if I could find something similar, sans the scallops, when it dawned on me to make the beans and spinach part, but not the scallops.  Sorry, I guess I had an off day yesterday that it took me hours to come up with an obvious solution.

So I set some dried small white beans on the stove to simmer and soften, since I’m fresh out of canned beans.  When dinner time came around, the kids had asked for burritos, and my initial thought had been to make this mixture and stuff it in a tortilla.  But then I saw this full carton of grape tomatoes, and I imagined how wonderful it would be to bite into a roasted grape tomato, and I decided to change this dish into Roasted Grape Tomatoes with Warm Tuscan Beans.

The beans and spinach came together very quickly.  I would totally make just this part for an everyday side dish anytime, because it was very quick, and very satisfying to make.  By itself, I thought it could have used a splash of fresh lemon juice to perk it up a bit, but overall, I was thrilled with the results.  The tomatoes I simply roasted in the oven for about half an hour, until it appeared they were starting to melt,and there was a little puddle of tomato juice in the bottom of the dish.  This is important- the tomato juices are what kicked the whole thing up to delicious.  I scooped some beans and greens onto a plate, and then topped that with the tomatoes and their juices.  Nothing more was needed.  I suppose if you really wanted, a shot of Parmesan would have been good, but I left it just as it was and had a spectacularly satisfying and delicious dinner.  I did wish that I had thought to toast up some garlic bread slices for sopping up the juices, but now I know to do that for next time.

This was quick, easy, and exactly the combination of fresh veggies and comfort food that my body was craving.  Even better, it used only on-hand ingredients that were needing to be used up anyway.  It would be extremely easy to make this vegetarian and vegan by swapping out the chicken broth for some rich veggie broth, or maybe some mushroom broth.  This one I’ll be repeating.

Roasted Grape Tomatoes with Warm Tuscan Beans

adapted from Cooking Light, March 2009

2 cups grape tomatoes

4 teaspoons olive oil, divided

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

3/4 cup finely chopped onion (half a medium onion)

1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1 cup less sodium chicken broth, divided

1 (19 oz ) can cannellini or other white beans, drained and rinsed

1 package fresh baby spinach

sea salt and black pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425ºF.  In a small Pyrex baking dish, combine the grape tomatoes, 2 teaspoons olive oil, sea salt and pepper.  Toss to combine, and roast for about 30 minutes, or until the tomatoes are bursting and juicy.

Meanwhile, add the onion and remaining 2 teaspoons of olive oil to a non-stick saute pan.  Saute’ for about 2 minutes, or until the onions are nicely softened.  Add the crushed red pepper flake and garlic.  Cook for about 30 seconds, or until nicely fragrant.  Add 1/4 cup of the chicken broth, and cook for 1 minute, or until most of the liquid has evaporated.  Stir in the remaining broth, the beans, and the dried basil.  Cook for about 2 more minutes, and then add the spinach.  Cook until wilted.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Divide the bean and spinach mixture between two bowls.   Top with the roasted tomatoes, and their juices. (Very important, don’t forget their juices!)

Serves 2.

For a vegetarian version, omit chicken broth and use a good veggie broth instead.