Archive for the ‘The Bodacious Bean (recipes using beans)’ Category

We all know beans are a great source of protein, fiber, iron, magnesium and many other nutrients. But did you know that, according to the Mayo Clinic, beans are packed with phytonutrients that may help prevent chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and cancer? That’s pretty remarkable.

My recent trip to Napa was full of cooking and exploring an array of ways to use beans. We discussed how cooking with beans is more than just opening a can, heating them up and serving them as a side. Beans are an ingredient to be used creatively in sauces, salads, dips and as thickeners to name a few.

Soon after starting this blog I started a series called “The Bodacious Bean” highlighting a variety of bean recipes. And with inspiration from all the great people I cooked with in Napa (and a little creativity of my own), I can’t wait to continue to add to “The Bodacious Bean” recipe file. I’d love to hear any ideas you have utilizing the bean too.

The first recipe I want to share is for a salad dressing. We cooked many recipes and shared endless ideas but this caesar salad dressing, using bean puree instead of eggs, really surprised me. The flavor and texture offer a pretty good match for the original. Plus it’s healthier.

By no means am I saying it’s better than the original but it is a good option for those with egg allergies, or others who can’t eat raw eggs for one reason or another.

The ingredients are basic: white beans, olive oil, lemon juice, parmesan cheese, pepper, anchovy paste, garlic, and water to thin if needed.

Begin by pureeing a whole can of white beans and their liquid in a food processor.

You’ll only need one cup of the puree – 1 15 0z. can of beans makes about 1 3/4 cup of puree. You can use the remaining puree in a soup or as a thickener for a sauce.

In a blender add all ingredients, except the water and blend until smooth.

Yum…parmesan.

If needed, add water to desired consistency but I didn’t add any to mine. Also, feel free to adjust the amount of anchovy paste if you’re not an anchovy fan. You can also use whole anchovies minced.

Toss with some chopped romaine hearts and serve. Yum. Yum. Yum.

That’s it. So simple.

Not-So-Caesar Caesar Salad Dressing

adapted from Joyce Goldstein; 2010 Worlds of Healthy Flavor Conference
(makes about 2 cups)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of white bean puree (canned beans & bean liquid pureed in food processor or blender)
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup lemon juice (juice of about 1 lemon)
• 1/4 cup parmesan, grated
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoons anchovy paste
• 2 teaspoons garlic, minced (about 2 large cloves)

1/4 cup water

Directions:

- In a blender combine bean puree, olive oil, lemon juice, parmesan cheese, pepper, anchovy paste, and garlic until blended and smooth.

- If needed, add water to thin to desired consistency.

- Refrigerate until used.

Enjoy!

I’d love to hear about any favorite bean recipes you may have. Are you a classic chili bean lover? Is there a tasty bean dip you can’t pass up? Please share – can’t wait to see hear from you!

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I like beans. They’re versatile, hearty, and packed with nutrients. You’ll find many recipes here, on She Wears Many Hats, highlighting beans as the main ingredient like Black Bean Dip, Black Bean Hummus, Black-eyed Pea Cakes (The Black-Eyed Pea Cakes are out of this world – you gotta try ‘em.) to name a few. You’ll find them all filed under the category The Bodacious Bean.

You can just imagine how excited I was to get an invitation from Bush’s Beans to travel to Napa for chili tasting and cooking at The Culinary Institute of America with Connie Guttersen, R.D., Ph.D., author of The Sonoma Diet.

I was tickled. Totally.

(I just hope I don’t make a fool of myself – you know I’m redneck like that.)

So late next week I’ll be flying off to beautiful Napa along with Sandy from Reluctant Entertainer (she’s got a book coming out this August – watch for it!), Aggie from Aggie’s Kitchen (yummy stuff and healthy too!), and Tina from Mommy’s Kitchen (don’t stop by there hungry – yum!). A great group of ladies cookin’ with some beans. How fun is that?

Can’t wait to share what I learn and hopefully some cool photos of the area too. Meanwhile, if you’ve yet to check out this White Bean Chili, this weekend may be the perfect time to make a batch.

Or take a look at this site from Bush’s Beans with tons of recipes and nutritional information about beans…Beans. The Vegetable With More.

I hope you have a great weekend full of tasty eats!

(So I don’t get in trouble or anything, you should know that Bush’s Beans is covering all costs for the trip – they’re cool like that.)

Me and black-eyed peas, we go way back – truly one of my comfort foods. And since a recent trip to Grits and Groceries, I’ve had black-eyed pea cakes on the brain. They were a yummy appetizer we enjoyed there.

I purchased the Grits and Groceries cookbook, as well as a calendar packed with more recipes, but no black-eyed pea cake recipes to be found. After a quick search online, tons popped up but I didn’t have all the ingredients for any of the ones that looked good to me. So I improvised, using what I had on hand, and was quite happy with the results. And when served with “comeback sauce” they are out of this world.

Let me say, with every ounce of  my being, this is good stuff. And that ain’t no lie.

Ain’t no lie.

For the cakes you’ll need some of these…

…onion, garlic, cilantro, basil, cumin, cayenne, and salt…

…and one fried slice of bacon (but why not go ahead and cook a few more pieces while you’re at it)…

…as well as olive oil, heavy cream, flour, an egg, half and half, and bread crumbs.

The comeback sauce was also improvised. Besides, you should make your own comeback sauce ’cause everyone likes to come back for different things. Below is a rough recipe for what we did. It’s easy enough to adjust to your tastes as you mix it up.

Begin by warming the black-eyed peas (drain first), while you prep the other ingredients. I sauteed the onion and garlic together in a little olive oil until softened. In a food processor, pulse about half of the black-eyed peas, bacon, onion, garlic, cilantro, basil, cumin, cayenne, and salt a few times until blended. Not too much. It doesn’t need to be totally smooth.

Transfer mixture to a bowl and stir in the reamaining black-eyed peas and heavy cream. Chill mixture until cool – about an hour or so. This is an essential step. When it cools, the mixture stiffens so cakes can be formed, otherwise you’ll have floppy cakes that will fall apart when be battered. And you don’t want floppy cakes. Not that I would know anything about that…just sayin’.

That’s another thing I love about this recipe, you can make the mixture a couple of days ahead and refrigerate.

After the mixture has cooled, gently form the cakes and set aside. It helps if you have slightly damp hands when forming the cakes. We made ours about 2 1/2-3″ round and 3/4″ thick, but you can make them smaller if you’d like. Just be sure to adjust cooking time. I don’t know if I’d go much bigger than 3″ round.

Prepare 3 separate bowls for battering. Flour goes in the first one. Then beat an egg and the half and half together in the second one. And the bread crumbs go in the third one.

Batter the cakes by coating first with flour, then the egg mixture and finish with the bread crumbs. Okay, I have freaky man hands, but this is actually a man’s hand.

My husband is a fabulous batterererer. (No, he doesn’t beat me people.) Be careful to keep the shape of the cake intact while battering.

Set aside after coated.

Line a plate or cooling rack with paper towels ready for cakes when cooked. Prepare the skillet by heating 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Fry cakes in small batches, cooking approximately 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown.

Be sure to watch the oil for overheating, and, if needed, add additional oil or start with new oil if it gets too dark.

Serve with a heaping serving of comeback sauce and be ready to hollah!

Black-Eyed Pea Cakes
(makes 8-12 depending on size)

Ingredients:

• 2  15.8 oz. cans of black-eyed peas; drained
• 1 slice of bacon; fried
• 4-8 tablespoons olive oil; divided
• 1/2 cup onion; chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic; minced
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup half and half
• 2 cups panko or fresh bread crumbs

Directions:

- Begin by warming the black-eyed peas, while you prep the other ingredients.

- Sautee the onion and garlic together in about 2 tablespoons of olive oil until softened.

- Add half of the black-eyed peas (about 1 1/2 cups), bacon, onion, garlic, cilantro, basil, cumin, cayenne, salt to a food processor and pulse a few times until blended. Not too much. It doesn’t need to be totally smooth.

- Transfer mixture to a bowl and stir in the remaining black-eyed peas and heavy cream.

- Chill the mixture until cool – about an hour or so.

- After the mixture has cooled, gently form the cakes and set aside.

- Prepare 3 separate bowls for battering. Flour goes in the first one. Then beat an egg and the half and half together in the second one. And the bread crumbs go in the third one.

- Batter the cakes by coating first with flour, then the egg mixture and finish with the bread crumbs. Set aside after coated.

- Have a plate or cooling rack lined with paper towels ready for cakes when cooked.

- Prepare the skillet by heating 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat.

- Fry cakes in small batches, cooking approximately 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown. Be sure to watch the oil for overheating, and, if needed, add additional oil or start with new oil if it gets too dark.

- Remove cakes, let cool on paper towel lined plate.

Serve with comeback sauce (basics for recipe below).

Comeback Sauce
(Other than the mayonnaise and the oil, we didn’t measure any of the ingredients, so combine to your taste preference.)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/8 cup salad oil (I used walnut oil)
• black pepper
• celery salt
• hot sauce
• ketchup
• mustard
• paprika
• Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

- Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate until served.

Enjoy!