Mostly Plants in a Hurry: White Beans with Tomatoes and Cilantro

This isn't the flashiest dish, looks-wise, but they say it's what's on the inside that counts. And oh, my, its insides are delicious.

Good for when you're low on time and happen to have some tomatoes and fresh cilantro on hand. It reheats well, so consider doubling the recipe and saving some leftovers for lunches. Serve over brown, black, or white rice.

Ingredients

Olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 tsp Aleppo pepper (or sub a small pinch of cayenne)

1 1/2 cups chopped ripe, fragrant tomatoes (or halved cherry tomatoes)

Small handful fresh cilantro, chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup grated pepper jack cheese (optional)

Sprinkle the tomatoes with a couple pinches of salt, toss, and let sit while you begin to cook (the salt draws the flavor out of the tomato and makes it taste more tomatoey—a particularly handy trick if you're using supermarket tomatoes or tomatoes that have been in the fridge).

Heat a nonstick pan over medium heat. When hot, add a generous glug of olive oil. Add the onion and saute, stirring occasionally, until it softens and smells sweet. Add the garlic and a pinch of salt and continue to saute, turning the heat down to medium-low and adding a little more olive oil if necessary, until the onion begins to turn golden in a few places.

Add the beans and turn the heat back up to medium. Saute, stirring from time to time, for 3-4 minutes more. Sprinkle with Aleppo pepper to taste, and turn off the heat. Cover and let sit 5-15 more minutes to let the flavor blend while the rice finishes cooking.

Toss the tomatoes with the cilantro and a little drizzle of olive oil. Serve in layers: rice (sprinkled with a little cheese if desired), beans, then tomatoes on the top.

Serves 2-3.

Warmed Tomatoes and Basil over Garlicky Greens

This was a let's-cook-whatever's-in-the-fridge dish, and yet the flavors turned out to be perfectly balanced and wonderfully complex. You could use just regular sweet basil if you didn't have both kinds (and maybe try adding just a bit more sherry vinegar to compensate for losing the hint of lemon).

Ingredients
Olive oil
1 slice multigrain bread, chopped into small croutons
1 cup cooked and well-drained chickpeas and/or cannellini beans
1 clove garlic, sliced
2-3 large handfuls fava greens, amaranth greens, or spinach
1 tsp sherry vinegar, divided
Salt and black pepper
Ñora pepper
6-10 fresh sweet basil leaves
2-3 medium heirloom tomatoes, cut into large chunks
1 rounded tsp chopped lemon basil

Heat a large, nonstick frying pan over medium heat. When hot, add a generous glug of olive oil and swirl around the pan. Add the bread and toss to coat lightly, then shift to the side of the pan and scatter the beans on the other side (everything should be just one layer thick). Toast, shaking or stirring occasionally, until everything begins to turn golden brown.

Turn the heat down slightly, add the garlic and a bit more olive oil, and toss to combine. Saute for about a minute, then add the greens and saute until they begin to wilt. Season to taste with salt and pepper, add a few dashes of ñora pepper if you have it, drizzle with 1/2 tsp sherry vinegar, and throw in the basil leaves. Stir a few times, then serve into bowls.

Replace the pan on the heat, add about 1 tbsp olive oil, then slide the tomatoes in and sprinkle with salt. Saute for about a minute, stirring occasionally (you basically just want to warm them up without really cooking them). Add the lemon basil, a little black pepper, and a half tsp (or just a little more) of sherry vinegar. Saute for about another minute or until the tomatoes are just barely warmed through, then serve over the beans.

Garnish with basil, and serve hot.

Serves 2 for lunch, or pair with a salad and bread for dinner.

White Bean and Chickpea Spread with Cumin and Cilantro

You know how chickpeas are slightly too thick to make a good spread, and white beans are slightly too watery?

I think I may have had a culinary epiphany. Or possibly the 100 degree weather has addled my brain. Regardless, this was both easy to make and delicious. I have witnesses.

Ingredients
1-2 cups cooked chickpeas
1-2 cups cooked cannelini beans
1 small clove fresh summer garlic
(if you don't like the bite of raw garlic, try using a clove or two of roasted or boiled garlic -- just add one clove at a time to avoid overpowering the flavor of the other ingredients)
Fresh cilantro (again, use sparingly -- try a five-fingered pinch of leaves to start)
1 tbsp(ish) olive oil
Generous sprinkling of cumin
Dash or two paprika
Pinch or two salt (unless your beans are already highly salted)
A little freshly ground white pepper
2-3 radishes, julienned

Toss all the ingredients except the radishes in a Cuisinart and blend until smooth. Adjust the beans to chickpea ratio until you've got your desired consistency, and adjust all the herbs and spices to taste (too little spice? Add more cumin. Too much cilantro? Add a few more white beans to dilute it down again).

Serve with or over toasts or crackers (I think thinly sliced, toasted french bread would be perfect, but all we had was crackers, and that worked well too). Garnish with julienned radishes and a few leaves of cilantro if desired.


Serves 2-4 alongside other small plates for tapas.


Pairs amazingly well with a $5 bottle of Honey Moon Viognier (available at Trader Joe's. I know, we're classy).