I never really thought to eat chard raw, but the stuff I’ve been getting from the CSA is so tender that last week, I decided to give it a shot. Admittedly, this isn’t entirely raw: The bean and tomato mixture was hot, and wilted the chard a bit when they were tossed together. But it still held onto some crunch, and with the addition of cabbage, this salad has a great combination of textures. And the flavor was pretty amazing. In fact, I hadn’t intended this to be a blog dinner. It was just a quick weeknight meal, thrown together from what was in my pantry, but I was so pleased with how it came out, I had to share.
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Tag: white beans
Easy White Bean and Tomato Sauce
A few nights ago I found myself rooting through my pantry, trying to think of something easy to make for dinner that would not involve a trip to the grocery store. I wanted something hearty but not unhealthy, something vegetarian, and something that would make for excellent leftovers. I came up with this, and couldn’t have been more pleased. This simple white bean sauce makes an excellent topping for just about anything you can imagine. I ate it first on top of a mashed potato, with a little Parmesan and bread crumbs. I ate some of the leftovers with pasta, and some over simple grilled chicken. These would be terrific with polenta, or in an omelet or frittata, or mixed with some extra broth to make soup. Talk about versatile. This is most assuredly a new kitchen staple.
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Creamy Vegetarian Minestrone
I’m not sure if it’s entirely fair to call this a soup. It turned out much thicker than I intended, but in this case that only made it better. This is a very hearty, warming, comforting winter meal, and its creaminess totally belies the fact that it’s pretty darned healthy. In my quest to eat more like a vegetarian or a vegan, this soup is a winner.
I’ve made minestrone many times, so I’m surprised I’ve never written about it. Minestrone is the simplest soup, made up of whatever bits and odds and ends are leftover in the pantry or refrigerator. It usually includes beans, pasta, and tomatoes as a base, but there is no set recipe, and the word minestrone has become a synonym for “hodgepodge” in Italy. It’s a great soup to make on Saturday night, before you go to the grocery store, when your refrigerator is mostly bare, and you need to use up the last of whatever is on hand, and it’s an especially excellent winter soup, because it takes well to all those winter vegetables. Yes, I love minestrone and turn to it often, and yet I’ve never seen the results I saw from this most recent minestrone making.
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