June: Beans on Toast
June: Beans on Toast
A budget friendly, versatile dish
No one who has recently shopped for the foods we need to nourish ourselves, our families and our friends has to rely on headline news to understand that inflation is no abstraction when it comes to filling a weekly grocery cart. Whether we blame pandemic repercussions or failures in the supply chain, or climate change, or the dreadful war still ongoing in Ukraine and threatening stability worldwide…the fact is that food costs continue to rise, and for too many of us, paychecks are simply not keeping up with what we need to spend to nurture ourselves and the people we love.
What food can we buy that won’t break the budget? Just as important, what can we buy that will deliver good quality nutrition and also taste delicious?
My mom and dad, raised during the Great Depression, in families and on farms where frugality was a given, would answer, “Dry beans!”
And, they would be right!
Although the recipes they would share with you would be for bean soup, similar to the famous concoction that is still served in the Senate Dining Room, and although some of you have already readied your tastebuds for recipes for baked beans that rely on bacon and molasses and sometimes bourbon for picnic perfect summertime flavor, I have been playing around with more basic beans on toast. And, I have been loving the results!
I need to tell you, from the outset, that I used to think that beans on toast sounded like a terrible idea. When I was growing up, and even later, when I was feeding a houseful of hungry children, toast was for breakfast, and beans were another matter altogether. We made ham and dry-bean soup to use up the leftover bone from the Christmas ham, but the beans we preferred were the fresh-from-my-dad’s-garden Fordhook lima beans, or frozen baby lima beans which could combine with corn kernels to become sweet, milky succotash when we craved comfort food.
When I told a good friend that I was thinking about writing about beans on toast for our newsletter this month, her very diplomatic reply was, “Hmmmmm …” (Then she changed the subject!)
Beans on toast: How could I even promote a desperation entrée like that?
After spending some time researching lots of cultural variations on the beans-on-toast theme, however, I’m ready to promote this delicious meal with all kinds of enthusiasm! And, I hope you’ll give our recipe a try.
A bonus is in the frugality. An InstaCart search yields dry cannellini, great northern, and baby lima beans in several local markets, and in every store, a pound of beans (which will certainly feed eight hungry diners more than adequately) cost less than $3.00 a pound. This is for premium-quality beans from a farmer renowned for the quality, taste, and cultural authenticity of the products he sells that still comes in for less than what you would pay for a pound of ground beef!
The recipe we’re sharing here relies on Italian-style seasonings and herbs, but you can certainly vary the flavors with other kinds of spice blends, herbs, and seasonings. Use chili powder and ground cumin seeds, along with chopped tomatoes, some lime and cilantro, and top with grated pepper-jack cheese and diced avocado to make beans on toast – or beans on toasted corn tortillas – to take your family on a dinnertime trip to Mexico! Add grated lemon peel, fragrant oregano and parsley, and garnish with crumbled Feta to experience a feast on top of toasted pita. I have found recipes that layer seasoned and drained cooked white beans and fresh mozzarella and grated parm on top of ready-to-bake pizza dough for an amazing pizza further garnished with arugula or radicchio! There are lots of possibilities, and all are equally enticing!
I am an Instant Pot fan. I love the pot’s I-OS VoiceOver accessibility for people who cannot access print or visually read the touch screen on a modern appliance. And, I love the pot for cooking beans! It’s quick and reliable.
On the other hand, not everyone wants to use a pressure cooker. I know that Molly will make her beans for topping toast in a big heavy pot on top of her stove, and her beans will be equally creamy and delicious.
You have lots of choices to make this month: Cannellini, Great Northern, baby lima or pintos, cranberry beans, black beans, pigeon peas, or red kidney beans for a different cultural focus. Instant pot, or stove top? Make cooking of the beans a one-step or a two-step process? White country-style bread, multigrain peasant bread, thick baguette slices, or perhaps a corn tortilla, a pita round, or some white or whole wheat pizza dough? No matter what you choose, enjoy your beans on toast, season both the beans and the toast lavishly. Finally, since the beans are so affordable, and if your food budget one happy week permits, you may even want to consider embellishing each serving with Old Bay seasoned and sauteed garlic shrimp, a broiled and seasoned filet of wild-caught salmon, a well-seasoned grilled chicken breast, or a couple slices of crispy prosciutto. Serve your beans on toast – garnished or not with more expensive additions – for dinner, as a next-day-lunch leftover, or as an elegant appetizer for a special get-together.
Beans on Toast
Ingredients:
For the Beans and their broth:
1 pound dry cannellini or other white beans
1 medium-size onion, peeled
3 garlic cloves, peeled
A large parmesan rind (up to 4 ounces)
Up to 6 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
3 Tablespoons Kosher salt, divided, and more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper and a big pinch of Aleppo pepper to taste
1- 2 bay leaves
Water for soaking and cooking beans
For the toast:
Thick slices Country French bread or baguette, or sliced hearty sourdough- one per serving
1/2 cup (1 stick) sweet butter at room temperature
1 clove garlic, peeled and grated
¼ cup fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped
¼ cup fresh basil leaves, finely torn
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
A pinch of Aleppo pepper
Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste
Up to 1/2 cup Freshly grated parmesan cheese and a little Flakey sea salt for topping the toast
Preparation
For the Beans
All recipes for preparing dry beans, it seems, tell the cook to carefully pick over the beans to identify and remove any rocks that might have found their way into the package. I have never actually found a rock or a pebble, but I guess there’s always a first time, so take a few minutes to perform this chore!
Instant Pot aficionados will tell you that a huge advantage of cooking beans under pressure is elimination of the need to soak the beans first. I know they are telling me the truth, but I continue to think that the beans are creamier if they’re soaked overnight first, and, since I season the soaking water with salt and bay leaves, I think they come out tastier than their unsoaked counterparts. Of course, it’s up to you.
If you don’t soak the beans, they will need to spend more time cooking in the broth you create, whether you’re cooking them in the electric pressure cooker or on top of the stove. My research indicates that unsoaked beans will need as long as 45 minutes of pressure cooking (maybe more), and from 90 minutes up to 2-1/2 hours of cooking in a pot on top of the stove.
Another way to assure the readiness of soaked beans for further cooking without soaking them overnight is to place the beans in a heavy pot, cover them with twice as much water as beans, and bring them to a boil. This method is called a quick soak. Boil for 3 minutes, then turn off the heat, and leave them to soak in that covered pot for an hour before proceeding with the next cooking step.
Here’s how I soak the beans overnight. Place the dry beans, along with twice as much water as beans, 2 TBSP. Kosher salt and 2 bay leaves in a large glass container, cover the container with a dinner plate, and leave them to soak overnight. When I’m ready to cook them, I drain the beans, add them to the Instant Pot’s inner pot, along with another teaspoon of salt, the black and Aleppo pepper, a big parmesan cheese rind, a peeled onion, several tablespoons of olive oil, and the garlic cloves. Then I add twice as much water as beans, and cover the pot with the lid. Make sure the sealing gasket is positioned firmly and close the valve. Set the Instant Pot for high pressure cooking for 22 minutes. Once cooking time has completed, allow the pot to naturally release pressure for 15 minutes by simply leaving the ‘Keep Warm’ setting alone. Then, release any residual pressure, and proceed with the recipe.
For stove-top cooking, If you chose to presoak or quick-soak the beans, drain them, add to a heavy pot, along with all of the other broth ingredients, including water to more than cover as described above, bring the contents of the pot to a boil, cover the pot, and cook at a slowly bubbling simmer until the beans are done, and the broth tastes delicious.
Once the beans and broth are cooked – Taste several beans to make sure they’re fully cooked with creamy middles – use a slotted spoon to remove the whole onion, the cheese rind, and the garlic cloves. You can mash the cooked garlic and stir it back into the broth if you want.
Taste the broth for seasoning. I often add more salt and pepper. Keep the beans warm while you make the toast.
For the Toast:
In a small bowl, use a wooden spoon to combine the softened butter with the parsley, basil, dried oregano, the grated garlic clove, and salt and pepper to taste.
Under the broiler, or using a toaster oven, toast the bread on one side only. Now, spread the untoasted side with the seasoned butter, broil for 2-to-4 minutes until crisp and fragrant.
Place a slice of toast in a shallow bowl for each diner. Cover each slice of toast with an enormous pinch of freshly grated parmesan cheese. Ladle hot beans and broth over the toast, and drizzle with a glug of your most delicious olive oil and a sprinkle of flakey sea salt if you want. Be prepared for a delicious, affordable, comforting meal, and enjoy every savory bite.
-Penny
Have you considered a cookbook with all the recipes and paintings?