Fiendishly good cranberry beans
My foodie coworker, Terry, dropped by my desk the other day to inform me that I had to make this. He was so right. If you don't work with Terry, I'm here to tell you that you need to make this, too. We were taking advantage of the fresh cranberry beans in the farmers' markets right now, but I'm sure it would also be good with pre-cooked dried beans like great northern or romano.
3 cups shelled, fresh cranberry beans
couple tablespoons olive oil
4-5 cloves garlic, peeled (chopping optional)
6-8 oz. dry white wine
1/2 tsp. dried or fresh thyme
1/2 tsp. dried or fresh rosemary, chopped
1/2 tsp. smoked Spanish paprika
salt to taste
Throw everything but the salt in a pot and add enough water or broth to get the water just to the level of the beans. Cover and simmer until the beans are tender and the liquid is mostly gone, checking the liquid level and stirring occasionally. This took longer than I'd expected, maybe because of the acid in the wine. But your patience will be rewarded. Mash with a potato masher, adding salt to taste. I added more olive oil at this point too, or you could drizzle it on top when you serve it.
I had this with grilled vegetables, but it's savory enough to be a spread for bread or crackers. It is not particularly pretty, so if you want to dress it up a little you could add some fresh parsley at the end. But damn, is it good.
3 cups shelled, fresh cranberry beans
couple tablespoons olive oil
4-5 cloves garlic, peeled (chopping optional)
6-8 oz. dry white wine
1/2 tsp. dried or fresh thyme
1/2 tsp. dried or fresh rosemary, chopped
1/2 tsp. smoked Spanish paprika
salt to taste
Throw everything but the salt in a pot and add enough water or broth to get the water just to the level of the beans. Cover and simmer until the beans are tender and the liquid is mostly gone, checking the liquid level and stirring occasionally. This took longer than I'd expected, maybe because of the acid in the wine. But your patience will be rewarded. Mash with a potato masher, adding salt to taste. I added more olive oil at this point too, or you could drizzle it on top when you serve it.
I had this with grilled vegetables, but it's savory enough to be a spread for bread or crackers. It is not particularly pretty, so if you want to dress it up a little you could add some fresh parsley at the end. But damn, is it good.