50 recipes in 2009 Challenge---Recipe #4 Tuscan Crockpot Beans
I actually made this on Saturday-Sunday but I've been lazy about posting it. I had never made beans from dried beans in the crock. I took some inspiration from Veganomicon's Tuscan White Beans recipe, but I deviated (as will be obvious from the ingredients). I'll do this Joy of Cooking Style, since it evolved as it went. I should mention I have a humongous crock. make sure you like beans before making this, because you will have a ton.
Take
1 pound dried white beans (I got navy beans) that have been picked through and washed.
Put in a deep pot and cover with cold water (at least 2" above beans). Cover and let soak overnight. Next day drain beans and place in crockpot.
Add the following to the crock:
1 cup of fresh cremini mushrooms, coarsely chopped
4 oz of rehydrated exotic mushroom blend (Mine was Monterrey blend with portobellos, oysters, porcinis, shitakes and morels)---rehydrate by covering in a bowl with boiling water and let sit for 20-30 minutes. Drain (reserve fluid) and chop coarsely
~1 cup carrots, diced
~3/4 cup celery, diced
3/4 cup green bell pepper, diced
1/2 large red onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, diced
parmesan reggiano rind
3 bay leaves
1 cup of reserved mushroom fluid
6 cups of water
Season with (eyeball it---all these were dried)
tarragon
basil
oregano
italian spice blend or
whatever tickles your fancy without salt (adding salt during cooking can make your beans tough)--you could take the seasonings in a lot of different directions.
Give a stir and cook in the crock covered on low for 8-10 hours (shorter end if you prefer firmer beans). (Note, I threw this in the fridge overnight at this point, reheated in the morning and continued forward).
When beans are cooked to your liking, pull out the basil leaves and add
1 can tomato paste (mine had italian herbs, not necessary)
1 can diced tomatoes undrained
Allow to heat through.
Finally add 1.5 cups of freshly grated parmesan reggiano (yay microplane!).Season with salt and pepper to taste, stir, top with fresh basil or italian parsley if desired and serve.
I did another twist here which I describe as a vegetarian cassoulet like dish (apologies to the French, chefs and ducks everywhere). This idea was taken from Veganomicon.
Take the bean mixture and put in a casserole dish. Top with italian seasoned panko bread crumbs and bake for 30-40 minutes uncovered. Yummy, less soupy beans with a crunchy flavorful top. You could even make it in individual ramekins to get fancy with it.
I'll post some pics later; not the most photogenic meal, but tasty, healthy and very economical. You can also freeze some; I would freeze before adding the cheese, then reheat and add cheese when you want to eat it. Or freeze the beans pre tomatoes and you could take it in many directions (lots cheaper than canned beans). It's also still tasty without the cheese, but the masses (aka my hubby) needs cheese to eat beans.
Take
1 pound dried white beans (I got navy beans) that have been picked through and washed.
Put in a deep pot and cover with cold water (at least 2" above beans). Cover and let soak overnight. Next day drain beans and place in crockpot.
Add the following to the crock:
1 cup of fresh cremini mushrooms, coarsely chopped
4 oz of rehydrated exotic mushroom blend (Mine was Monterrey blend with portobellos, oysters, porcinis, shitakes and morels)---rehydrate by covering in a bowl with boiling water and let sit for 20-30 minutes. Drain (reserve fluid) and chop coarsely
~1 cup carrots, diced
~3/4 cup celery, diced
3/4 cup green bell pepper, diced
1/2 large red onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, diced
parmesan reggiano rind
3 bay leaves
1 cup of reserved mushroom fluid
6 cups of water
Season with (eyeball it---all these were dried)
tarragon
basil
oregano
italian spice blend or
whatever tickles your fancy without salt (adding salt during cooking can make your beans tough)--you could take the seasonings in a lot of different directions.
Give a stir and cook in the crock covered on low for 8-10 hours (shorter end if you prefer firmer beans). (Note, I threw this in the fridge overnight at this point, reheated in the morning and continued forward).
When beans are cooked to your liking, pull out the basil leaves and add
1 can tomato paste (mine had italian herbs, not necessary)
1 can diced tomatoes undrained
Allow to heat through.
Finally add 1.5 cups of freshly grated parmesan reggiano (yay microplane!).Season with salt and pepper to taste, stir, top with fresh basil or italian parsley if desired and serve.
I did another twist here which I describe as a vegetarian cassoulet like dish (apologies to the French, chefs and ducks everywhere). This idea was taken from Veganomicon.
Take the bean mixture and put in a casserole dish. Top with italian seasoned panko bread crumbs and bake for 30-40 minutes uncovered. Yummy, less soupy beans with a crunchy flavorful top. You could even make it in individual ramekins to get fancy with it.
I'll post some pics later; not the most photogenic meal, but tasty, healthy and very economical. You can also freeze some; I would freeze before adding the cheese, then reheat and add cheese when you want to eat it. Or freeze the beans pre tomatoes and you could take it in many directions (lots cheaper than canned beans). It's also still tasty without the cheese, but the masses (aka my hubby) needs cheese to eat beans.