Make-Fast Mondays: Bratwurst with Beans and Greens

I’ve been firing up the oven a lot lately, the direct result of a long string of gloomy, rainy days (but please keep it coming, El Niño). Chase the gray away by making this delicious, cozy, quick meal!

Bratwurst with Beans and Greens 
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic
12 ounces bratwurst or smoked sausage, sliced (I used Saag’s Natural Chicken Bratwurst)
3 cans white beans, drained and rinsed
3 cups diced tomatoes (from two cans; you’ll have a little bit extra)
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 cups chopped greens (I used a mix of kale and spinach)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a skillet or other oven-proof pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for a minute. Add sausage and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add beans, tomatoes, smoked paprika, thyme and pepper flakes. Cook for another 3-3 minutes so everything’s nice and warm. Remove skillet from heat and stir in the greens. Season with salt and pepper, then put skillet in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.

Lamb Chili with White Beans and Oregano

I love a good bowl of chili (who doesn’t?) but when I make it at home I tend to use chicken or ground turkey. Time to shake things up with some lamb! This chili is packed with flavor and will keep you nice and toasty when it’s cold outside.

Lamb Chili with White Beans and Oregano 
1 pound ground lamb
1 yellow onion, diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
4 cups cooked white beans*
2 cups beef broth
¼ cup fresh oregano, plus extra for garnish
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Crumbled feta (optional)

*A note on the beans: I made my own pot of beans, but if you're going the canned route, two 15-ounce cans will work just fine. 

Brown lamb In a large pot over medium-high heat until meat is thoroughly cooked. Transfer meat to plate or bowl lined with a paper towel.

Add the onion, garlic, cumin, cinnamon, chili powder and coriander to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft, about 4 or 5 minutes. Return lamb to the pot and add beans, broth, oregano and tomatoes. Bring to a simmer and cook, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper, and stir in the lemon juice. Garnish with oregano and feta and enjoy.

Chicken artichoke cassoulet, oh la la!

This isn’t the most traditional take on a French cassoulet you’ll find, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give it a go the next time you’ve got a hankering for a delicious, hearty meal.

Chicken and Artichoke Cassoulet 
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into small chunks
1 cup pearl onions (or diced onion)
12 ounces frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
2 tablespoons minced garlic
½ cup chicken broth
¼ cup dry white wine
3 cups prepared Great Northern beans (or other white beans)
½ cup diced Italian parsley, plus extra for garnish
Salt and pepper, to taste
½ cup bread crumbs
½ cup grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

To make the topping, combine bread crumbs, Parmesan and melted butter in a bowl, stirring briefly with a fork until blended. Set aside.

In a Dutch oven or other oven-safe dish (I used my Le Creuset braiser), heat olive oil over moderate heat. Add chicken, garlic and onions and cook until chicken is thoroughly cooked, stirring occasionally. Add broth, wine and beans to the pot. Stir in parsley and let everything simmer for a couple minutes, seasoning with salt and pepper as needed.

Cover cassoulet evenly with topping before transferring dish from stove (don’t forget to turn off your burner!) to oven. Bake, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes, until topping is toasty brown. Remove from oven, garnish with remaining parsley and serve.

Would you rather make your own pot of beans for this recipe instead of busting out the can opener? 

White Beans
1 pound dry Great Northern beans, picked through and rinsed
3 garlic cloves
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt

Soak beans in water (covered with 1-2 inches of water) in a medium pot for 8-10 hours. Drain beans in a colander. Return beans to pot and cover with 1 inch water. Add garlic, bay leaves and salt and bring pot to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 1-2 hours, until beans are tender.

Make-Fast Mondays: Creamy Cilantro and White Bean Soup

Want a thick, creamy soup without adding any dairy? My favorite trick in the past has been to purée some, if not all of my ingredients, with our trusty Vitamix after everything’s had a chance to simmer. However, scooping steamy soup into a pitcher can be a bit hot and messy, so with this recipe I opted to purée before cooking. Less mess, and tossing the whole onion into the blender meant less time chopping. Piece of cake.

Creamy Cilantro and White Bean Soup 
4 15-ounce cans white beans, drained
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 large white onion
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic 
1 teaspoon cumin
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Equipment: Blender 

Put two cans of beans, broth, onion and cilantro in blender pitcher, add lid, and blend ingredients until smooth. Heat olive oil in soup pot over medium flame. Add garlic and cook for a minute or two, until aromatic. Pour contents of pitcher and remaining beans into pot. Stir in cumin. Increase heat and bring soup to boil. Reduce heat, cover pot with lid and let soup simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper, as needed. Remove soup from heat and stir in the lime juice. Divide soup among four bowls and serve.

Keeping cans of cannellini beans close

I try not to play favorites, but when it comes to beans, I absolutely love cooking with cannellinis. These white kidney beans are just so versatile. Give any or all of these three quick, no-cook cannellini recipes a try and you’ll see what I mean.

Cannellini Bean Salad 
2 15-ounce cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups roasted red bell peppers
2 cloves garlic juice of half a lemon
Chopped flat-leaf parsley, for garnish

Put peppers, garlic and lemon juice in a blender and process until smooth. Stir dressing in with beans in a bowl and top with parsley.

Pesto White Bean Dip
1 15-ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
¼ cup pesto
Juice of half a lemon
Possible dippers: Pita chips

Everything goes into the blender for a quick spin, until smooth.

Red Pepper White Bean Dip 
1 15-ounce can cannellini beans
1 cup roasted red bell pepper
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
Possible dippers: Carrot and celery sticks

All ingredients go into the blender. Purée, adding a little more balsamic if you’d like to thin the dip a bit.

Valentine's Day, One More Taste style

For the past couple years Chris and I have avoided going out for Valentine’s Day, opting instead to stay home and prepare a stellar meal for a fraction of the price. For example, last year's dinner featured some awesome steaks, scalloped potatoes with truffle cheese and spicy asparagus.

This year I wanted to go out on a limb a little and work with lamb. My experience cooking lamb to this point had been limited to grilling up some burgers. I still dream of the delicious leg of lamb I had for my birthday this year at Barndiva in Healdsburg, and used that amazing meal as inspiration for our Valentine’s feast.

I pulled out all my cookbooks, spread them around me and got to work. After reading about the different cuts and cooking methods I honed in on roast leg of lamb. Alice Waters’ “In the Green Kitchen” and Jamie Oliver’s “The Naked Chef” were great resources.

The meat department at Corti Bros. had whole, bone-in legs that weighed over seven pounds, which would have been a bit much for the two of us. The butcher removed the bone and gave me the top half of the leg, which ended up weighing a little over three pounds. Perfect.

I brought in two enormous sprigs of rosemary from the backyard and sliced up three large garlic cloves. All the garlic cloves went in the inside of the leg, along with about half of the rosemary, before I tied the leg up into a nice, tight bundle using kitchen string. I seasoned the outside of the leg with plenty of salt and pepper and set it atop the rest of the rosemary sprigs in a large roasting pan. I roasted the lamb in the oven at 375 degrees for 30 minutes before flipping the lamb, roasting an additional 30 minutes, and then flipping it over again for another 20 minutes or so. Once the lamb’s internal temperature was 128 degrees, I removed it from the oven and let it sit for another 15 minutes before carving. What I ended up with was a medium-rare marvel that tasted great on its own, but even better with some mint pesto.

Mint Pesto
Adapted from Bon Appetit
1 cup fresh mint leaves
½ cup fresh cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons pine nuts
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, peeled
1/3 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

Combine all ingredients but oil in blender or food processor to course puree. With machine still running, gradually pour in olive oil. And puree until almost smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Sautéed chard (tossed into a frying pan with a little bit of soy sauce and red pepper flakes) and a white bean gratin rounded out the meal. I know there are some shortcuts I could have taken with the beans, but my experience with dry beans is minimal so I wanted to start this dish from the very beginning.

While I spent a good part of the day in the kitchen, it was well worth it to enjoy a delicious meal with my sweets.

White Bean and Tomato Gratin
1 ½ pounds dried Great Northern beans, rinsed
10 cups water
1 yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 teaspoon salt
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
2 tablespoons dried thyme
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs made from old French bread
1 cup grated Parmesan
Salt and pepper, to taste

Rinse beans and place in a large bowl or pot. Fill pot with enough water to cover beans with 1-2 inches water. Soak overnight, and then drain.

Combine beans, 10 cups water, onion, garlic and salt in large pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until beans are tender, about 90 minutes. Drain.

Transfer beans to a 13-9-2-inch glass baking dish. Add canned tomatoes and thyme and stir together gently to blend. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Mix breadcrumbs and Parmesan in a bowl and sprinkle over beans. Bake at 350 degrees roughly one hour, until topping is a golden brown and mixture is bubbly.