recipe

Catalan-Style Beans

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This is a recipe for a basic spanish/Catalonian-type bean dish, a variant of one I saw in a cookbook and did my own version of (mostly to make it simpler and easier).  It’s not perfect, but it came out darn good the first time – more below.

Catalan-Style Beans

  • 2 tbsp Olive oil
  • 4 large tomatoes, diced
  • 1 bell pepper, dices
  • 1 1/2 tbsp crushed garlic (about 4 big cloves)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp ground thyme
  • generous pinch cinnamon
  • 3 cups (2 cans) of white beans or garbanzos, low-sodium
  1. Preheat oven to 375.
  2. Mix all ingredients except beans in a skillet.  Sautee for 3 minutes to allow blend, cover, lower heat.  Cook 10 minutes, simmering.
  3. Place beans on bottom of a 2 quart baking dish, spread out evenly.
  4. Cover beans with tomato mixture.
  5. Place in oven, cook uncovered for 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes.
  6. Serve.

This freeze and reheats well – in fact the flavor may improve after a bit of reheating – don’t overdo reheating it, the beans can get a bit soft if you use navy beans.

This recipe was pretty good the first time, with a simple flavor, nice fragrance, a bit of a zippy kick from the tomatoes and garlic.  A nice, light main course.  It needs some tweaking – the flavor could use a bit of depth and I think there may have been a bit much liquid – but it’s one of those recipes where the first time showed there’s something to this.

Improvement-wise I’m thinking of: less olive oil, uncovering the mix during the simmer phase to reduce fluid, and cooking at a slightly lower temperature.  I have also tried it with paprika (not sure) and some red pepper (which was good).

Also it’s easy to make after the initial sautee-and-simmer, since it basically sits in the oven for an hour with an occasional stir!

Serving-wise I’ve had it with polenta, steamed garlic, and vinegared turnips.  Despite its kick, it works with vinegared food and other sours, and I think it goes good with greens.  The polenta worked due to sweetness, so it’d also probably go good with corn, peas, rice, and bread.

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.musehack.com/, publishes books on career and culture at http://www.informotron.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.

Recipe: Quick Tomato Lentil Salad

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This is a great, simple recipe for a nice sale with that savory tomato kick. It’s a good example of how something like a tomato can act as a spice, it really kicks up the dish.  It’s also got plenty of protein, fiber, healthy fats, and taste.

1/2 cups lentils, rinsed.
1 1/2 cup water
1 medium tomato, finely diced.
1 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 to 1 1/2 tsp of salad dressing powder (I use my own mixture)

  1. Cook Lentil until they soften enough to be eaten but are still firm. Drain.
  2. Mix lentils with tomato and place in refrigerator until cool.
  3. Mix red wine vinegar, dressing powder, and olive oil.
  4. Add dressing mix to the lentils and tomato, stir thoroughly. Let sit in refrigerator for another 5 minutes.
  5. Stir lentil mixture. Serve.

I think that if you drained the lentils thoroughly and added the tomato you could freeze the mixture and serve later, but in my previous experience don’t try and freeze it with the dressing.  Similar experiments haven’t worked out for me.

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.musehack.com/, publishes books on career and culture at http://www.informotron.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.

Recipe: Vegetarian Cincinnati Chilli

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Been awhile since my latest cooking posts?  Yep, pretty busy, holidays, and all.  Also a lot of my dishes are in an experimental state, and I haven’t had the mojo to tweak my curry after the latest milestone.  However one recipe just got out of “experimental” to “done” – vegetarian Cincinnati Chilli!

  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 finely chopped red onion
  • 1 Tbsp crushed garlic
  • 1 1/2 cups red wine
  • 1 1/2 cups tomato puree
  • 2 Tbsp cocoa powder
  • 1 Tbsp chili powder
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 Tbsp Maple Syrup
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1/4 + 1/8 tsp cinnamon (trust me, the exact amount matters)
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp allspice
  • 1/8 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/8 tsp red pepper
  • 1/8 tsp black pepper
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 14 oz can pinto beans, drained, or about 3 cups of cooked beans.
  • 1 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
  1. Sautee onion in olive oil until soft.
  2. Add garlic to onion, brown both.
  3. Add all ingredients but pinto beans and vinegar
  4. Bring to boil, then let simmer for 20 minutes.
  5. Add beans and vinegar. Cook another 10 minutes until heated thoroughly.
  6. Remove bay leaf.
  7. Serve.

The result is great. A rich, sweet, spicy, satisfying chilli that’s got that whole Cincinnati Chili feel without meat.  Only caveat – not sure 10 minutes is long enough to cook the beans and vinegar in.  You may want to try 15, or try a different bean as this time the pintos came out just a bit “beany” in taste.

Still, going to call this a success.  It’s delicious.  I may have to try it with other protein sources!

I fount it went well with polenta or carrots as a side dish.

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.musehack.com/, publishes books on career and culture at http://www.informotron.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.