We had some very special unexpected guests for SUNDAY NIGHT DINNER and I found out just before they arrived that one was vegetarian. We always eat with a veggie lean but I wanted to make something that was really a special MAIN to show my appreciation for the person, the food, and the tradition we have of making a special dinner on a SUNDAY no matter how little we have in the cupboard.
BEANS are a great source of protein. They are accessible (economically and from a storage point of view), environmentally favoured for soil health, growth time, and water consumption, and BEANS are delicious.
Often given a bit of a bad rap as being gassy, this is really not true of slow cooked beans that when cared for created a grounding quality for all doshas. There is no genius needed in cooking beans, soak them if they are dry or rinse them if they are canned, a little salt, spice, onion and tomato and all the family will enjoy them. If you add a splash of apple cider vinegar you will awaken your taste buds and improve the digestibility (ketchup understands this moorish principle very well!|)
If BEANS are amazing then BUTTER BEANS are next level. The creamy bite is wider than a white bean and softer than a red bean. I might be a little bit in love with BUTTER BEANS. Can you blame me?
Slice up an onion and add it to some extra virgin olive oil with salt and black pepper. Let the onion get all golden lovely then add in a sliced green chilli, some roughly chopped garlic, lemon peel, and a shake of cumin seeds. When you can smell the lemon and the chilli add in some cherry tomatoes, a can of BUTTER BEANS, and let the tomatoes split a bit before adding a half cup of water and the lemon juice from the one you peeled. Simmer for a good 20 minutes then add a knob of butter for extra creaminess.
I served this on a standard greek yoghurt with salt, lemon zest (still the same lemon as above) and two grated garlic cloves - to taste.
Before it arrives at the table spread the yogurt onto a beautiful dish and topple the beans on top. It is a total WOW and a guarantee to make SUNDAY NIGHT DINNER even more special that you imagined.
Here ends my advertisement for why we should eat more beans. Let me know if you try it