I'm humoring myself and assuming that maybe one of you cooked the entire pound of white beans as suggested in the previous blog entry and didn't just resort to using canned, rinsed white beans (though that certainly will do). Like I said before, the big pot o' white beans is just a more economical approach to stocking your pantry with multiple cans of white beans. And now you - that one person - are wondering what in the world you will do with another half-pound of frozen white beans.
The answer, dear faithful sole follower, is in my variation of Nigella Lawson's Chicken Cattiatore. (I have to look up how to spell that word every time I write it.) It is simply "chicken cooked in the hunter's way," for you, that means it's a one-pot meal that could potentially be cooked over a campfire. Don't worry; it's stovetop-friendly, too.
Here at Will Blog for Food, I'm a big fan of one-pot meals, and well, so is my husband. Few things make him happier than facing only one pot to wash after a delicious dinner. And oh, how I love me some Nigella Lawson! She speaks food poetry, lyrical recipes, even, with her usage of words such as "jewel-toned vegetables," and "Let it come to a bubble" instead of "Let it boil." Lovely! My words won't sound as fancy (that's "faincy" if I was saying it out loud) as hers do, but I'll try.
I discovered Nigella's recipe after seeing her show "Nigella Express" (Love it! Please bring it back, FN!) on the Food Network, and maybe some measurements are lost in the metric system conversion, but somehow, each time I made it, the dish seemed more like soup instead of the thickened dish seen on the Food Network. After some experiments and tweaking, I figured out the answer: Cut the chicken into smaller pieces, add a little thickener and let it cook with the lid off.
On another thrifty note, chicken thighs are more flavorful and less expensive than chicken breasts, though for the sake of time, I do recommend spending a bit more on the boneless, skinless chicken thighs. This meal comes together in 20-25 minutes, especially if you snip the bacon and green onions with kitchen shears right over the pot, instead of dragging out the knife and cutting board.
One last plug: I made this for my mom once when she was visiting for the weekend, and she immediately demanded the recipe. Economical, one dish and healthy, with a dose of fiber from the white beans, this Chicken Cattiatore is all that a one-pot meal should be.
Chicken Cattiatore
Ingredients:
- 1 T. olive oil
- 4 slices bacon, chopped, preferably center-cut
- 6 green onions or 1/2 c. chopped white onions
- 2 T. minced garlic (about three large cloves)
- 1/2 tsp. dried rosemary, slightly crumbled between your fingers
- 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 2 T. all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp. Old Bay seasoning
- 1/2 c. dry white wine
- 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 tsp. sugar
- 1/2 lb. thawed white beans (cannellini), or two cans drained, rinsed white beans
Directions:
Heat the oil over medium heat in a large saucepan, and add the bacon and onions. Fry until the bacon renders its fat, 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic and rosemary and stir. Add the chicken pieces to the pan and sprinkle the flour and Old Bay over. Toss everything together. Pour in the wine next, then add the tomatoes (undrained), bay leaves and sugar. Stir everything and let simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Stir in the white beans at the end and serve. Serves 4.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Some apologize with flowers; I say I'm sorry with Sausage and White Beans.
To all three of my readers, I apologize. In April, I transitioned from working at home to working 40+ hours a week in an office, writing on a computer all day long. With all of that computer-writing, the last thing I wanted to do when I got home was write even more on a computer.
But I missed writing about food, so I'm back. And all of this working has me cooking new, creative meals that I can throw together when I get home at 6:30 p.m.
One of the meals that I always come back to is Sausage with White Beans, a recipe I modified from my favorite food blog, Simply Recipes. I think I've spoken before about the fantastic chicken and turkey sausage at my beloved Farmer's Market; if I haven't, that Farmer's Market is worthy of its own blog post.
This one-pot meal was meant to be served during the winter, for it is hearty, hot and filling. However, one can easily turn on a fan and enjoy it as well. (Really, it's not that bad.)
First is my friend Barbara's brilliant suggestion for cooking dried white beans in a slow cooker. It's perfect - just pick out the bad beans, add into the slow cooker with water and three measly ingredients that you'll always have in your pantry, set and forget (forgive the Billy Mays-esque plug there - R.I.P., Mr. Mays.). No soaking or watching over a pot for an hour or two. Freeze the leftovers in freezer bags with a little of their cooking liquid, and you'll always have an array of beans onhand that's a more economical and less salty subsitution for canned beans. Plus, you can use that lovely, mushy garlic that results from the all-day cookery.
Now, on to the recipe(s):
Crock-Pot Beans
Ingredients:
- 1 1-lb. bag dried cannelini (or any other kind of) beans
- 3-4 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 tsp. salt or smoked sea salt
- Water
Directions:
Briefly pick through the beans and remove any broken beans or stones. Pour beans and next three ingredients in a medium-sized slow cooker, and add about 32 oz. of water (or three times as much water as you have beans). Cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 3 hours for more firm beans; cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours for softer beans.
Sausage and White Beans
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. bulk sausage, preferably hot turkey or chicken sausage
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- Red pepper flakes and salt to taste
- Dried sage (optional)
- 14 oz. chopped tomatoes in puree
- Reserved cooked garlic cloves (optional)
- 1/2 c. bean cooking liquid (if you don't have it, 1/4 c. water will work instead)
- 1/2 lb. cooked white beans, or two cans of white beans, drained and rinsed
Directions:
Heat a pan over medium heat and add olive oil. Saute garlic for 30 seconds, then add sausage, breaking up with the back of a wooden spoon. Spread the sausage out in the pan, and don't stir it often so it can brown. When sausage is browned, sprinkle salt, red pepper flakes and sage over. Add tomatoes in puree, and be careful, because the pan will bubble like mad. Stir the tomatoes and scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Add the cooked garlic cloves if using, mash and mix into the sauce. Turn off the heat and add the cooked white beans at the end, gently folding them into the mixture so they don't get smashed. You will want the beans whole. Serves 4.
But I missed writing about food, so I'm back. And all of this working has me cooking new, creative meals that I can throw together when I get home at 6:30 p.m.
One of the meals that I always come back to is Sausage with White Beans, a recipe I modified from my favorite food blog, Simply Recipes. I think I've spoken before about the fantastic chicken and turkey sausage at my beloved Farmer's Market; if I haven't, that Farmer's Market is worthy of its own blog post.
This one-pot meal was meant to be served during the winter, for it is hearty, hot and filling. However, one can easily turn on a fan and enjoy it as well. (Really, it's not that bad.)
First is my friend Barbara's brilliant suggestion for cooking dried white beans in a slow cooker. It's perfect - just pick out the bad beans, add into the slow cooker with water and three measly ingredients that you'll always have in your pantry, set and forget (forgive the Billy Mays-esque plug there - R.I.P., Mr. Mays.). No soaking or watching over a pot for an hour or two. Freeze the leftovers in freezer bags with a little of their cooking liquid, and you'll always have an array of beans onhand that's a more economical and less salty subsitution for canned beans. Plus, you can use that lovely, mushy garlic that results from the all-day cookery.
Now, on to the recipe(s):
Crock-Pot Beans
Ingredients:
- 1 1-lb. bag dried cannelini (or any other kind of) beans
- 3-4 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 tsp. salt or smoked sea salt
- Water
Directions:
Briefly pick through the beans and remove any broken beans or stones. Pour beans and next three ingredients in a medium-sized slow cooker, and add about 32 oz. of water (or three times as much water as you have beans). Cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 3 hours for more firm beans; cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours for softer beans.
Sausage and White Beans
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. bulk sausage, preferably hot turkey or chicken sausage
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- Red pepper flakes and salt to taste
- Dried sage (optional)
- 14 oz. chopped tomatoes in puree
- Reserved cooked garlic cloves (optional)
- 1/2 c. bean cooking liquid (if you don't have it, 1/4 c. water will work instead)
- 1/2 lb. cooked white beans, or two cans of white beans, drained and rinsed
Directions:
Heat a pan over medium heat and add olive oil. Saute garlic for 30 seconds, then add sausage, breaking up with the back of a wooden spoon. Spread the sausage out in the pan, and don't stir it often so it can brown. When sausage is browned, sprinkle salt, red pepper flakes and sage over. Add tomatoes in puree, and be careful, because the pan will bubble like mad. Stir the tomatoes and scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Add the cooked garlic cloves if using, mash and mix into the sauce. Turn off the heat and add the cooked white beans at the end, gently folding them into the mixture so they don't get smashed. You will want the beans whole. Serves 4.
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