Subtle flavors combine with a super-easy cooking method to create a simple but savory pot of flageolet beans that can be eaten alone, as a side, or as the base of any bean dish. The bright flavors of parsley, lemon, and garlic combine in a topping called gremolata, waking up this comforting dish.
This cooking method is described by Jamie Oliver in his Jamie at Home television series. I have modified it slightly. You can use this method to cook any type of bean, although I think it’s best suited to smaller white beans or pintos.
Suitable for:
vegan, gluten-free, low-sodium, migraine, reduced-sugar diets
- 1 cup flageolet beans or small white beans (do not use lentils, navy, broad, fava, or lima beans for migraine diet)
- 1 tomatoes
- 1 potatoes
- 1 bulb garlic Yes, the entire thing
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 sprigs fresh savory
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar (use 1/2 tsp white vinegar for migraine diet, or omit)
- 1/2 tsp sea salt (omit for very low-sodium diet)
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 handful fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley
- 1 lemons zest only (omit for migraine diet)
- 1 clove garlic
- Rinse and pick over the beans to make sure there are no bruised beans or small pebbles. Put in a pot or bowl with about 4 C. (1 L) filtered water. Let sit overnight. Check them before you go to bed; you may need to add a little more water to them.
- When you are ready to cook the beans, rinse them in a colander and let them drain.
- Wash the tomato, potato, garlic bulb (yes, that's an entire head of garlic, not a typo), and the herbs. Tie the herbs together with some kitchen string.
- Put the beans in a cooking pot with 4 C. filtered water (1 L), and the tomato, potato, garlic, bay leaves, and herb bundle.
- Bring the pot to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer with the lid on for about 60 minutes until the beans are tender but not mushy.
- Fish out the herb bundle, garlic, potato, and tomato with a slotted spoon. Remove the tomato skin and squish out the garlic centers into a your serving bowl. Mash everything together into a soft paste. (Compost the herb bundle, garlic skin, and tomato skin.)
- Pour off most of the liquid from the beans, then add them to the bowl, stirring to mix thoroughly. Add vinegar and oil (about 1 part vinegar to 4 parts oil), and salt and pepper to taste.
- Finely chop some parsley and add the zest from one lemon. If you like raw garlic, add some very finely chopped garlic. Top the beans with this mixture, which is called gremolata.
Per serving:
- 87 calories
- 3 g fat
- 0 g saturated fat
- 2 g monounsaturated fat
- 0 g polyunsaturated fat
- 0 g trans fat
- 0 g cholesterol
- 208 mg sodium (20 mg sodium with salt omitted)
- 211 mg potassium
- 13 g carbohydrate
- 4 g fiber
- 2 g sugars
- 3 g protein
- 2 Weight Watchers Points Plus
I use the same number of bay leaves every time when cooking a stew, so that I always remember to locate and remove them before serving. Three seems like the right number. People can choke on bay leaves; even after cooking they have extremely sharp edges.
Required FTC disclosure: My thanks to Bob's Red Mill for providing me with a bag of these beans to try.
You could use these beans in White Bean Salad from A Food Centric Life.
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