Paella (p. 238)

I love paella -- to me, it's a pretty perfect dish. Luckily, this recipe kept me believing that, and this will definitely be added to the list of recipes to make again some day.

Paella is pretty time consuming (this took me about an hour and 45 minutes) but, I think, worth the time.

Start your pre-soaked white beans at a low simmer and cook them until they're done. Start this at the very beginning because it takes a while for them to cook, and you can work on preparing everything else during that time.

You can use a variety of different meats for paella. I used chicken legs, chicken thighs,  pork spare ribs, and shrimp, browning each (or in the case of the shrimp, pinkening) in olive oil and then setting aside.

In the same olive oil, sauté chopped onion until soft, and then add chopped tomatoes. Cook this down into a sauce. Add green beans and the white beans with their cooking water. Stir in a healthy does of paprika and cook until everything has become thick.

Now all the meats (except the shrimp) go back into the pan, and this is where things get tricky. You really need a super huge pan to make paella. Even after cutting the recipe in half, my 12 inch sauté pan was really too small, as evidenced by upcoming pictures.

Pour simmering chicken stock into the pan and add lots of coarse sea salt and rosemary. Pour the rice in around the meat, so that it is fully immersed in the stock. Cook until the rice is completely done (I took mine off the heat a few minutes too early because I was worried that everything was going to overflow the pan.) Add the reserved shrimp, set aside for a few minutes, and serve.

Despite the rice being a tad bit crunchy, this was super delicious. Changes I'd make next time would be cutting down the quantities even more, and using cut pieces of meat instead of meat on the bone -- I think that would make it easier to cook and eat.

pork ribs -- $4.58

chicken stock -- $3.49

shrimp -- $4.16

chicken -- $4.69

onions -- $.65

green beans -- $.56

Total Cost of Paella: $18.13

($3.02 per serving)

Koukia me Anginares (p. 319)

Koukia me Anginares is Broad Beans with Artichokes, and is supposed to be made with fresh fava beans, but I only had dried, so I soaked them overnight and then cooked them until tender before starting up the rest of the recipe.

And I know I've asked before, but why do cooked fava beans smell so gross?

Moving on. Sauté the fava beans as well as chopped onion and dill in olive oil, and cook until the onions have softened.

Add in the cleaned and prepped artichokes along with lemon juice and some salt and pepper.

The next step confused me a little -- add water until it covers the vegetables, cover, and cook until the artichokes are tender. Which I did, but then there was a ton of water in the pan. The recipe must have used a totally different type of pan then I did, because I had to drain everything so that the dish would look how I thought it should, but draining was definitely not included in the directions.

Well.... this is not my favorite. The beans seemed totally lacking in flavor and I was kind of bored by them. The artichoke leaves I dipped in melted butter, so I can't really complain about that part.

artichokes -- $5.99

Total Cost of Koukia me Anginares: $5.99

($2.00 per serving)

Turkish-Style Oven-Braised Winter Vegetables (p. 343)

This is a really simple recipe to throw together, if you're the kind of person who's in to braised veggies. I'm not, really, but with enough salt and pepper pretty much anything can be good.

The only stove-top cooking needed is for the beans -- I had soaked mine over night and then cooked them in water and olive oil for about an hour, until they were nice and tender.

For the rest of the veggies, you can use pretty much whatever you have on hand. I chopped up carrots, celery, a turnip and a potato and put them in an oven-proof dish with some salt, pepper, lemon juice, and olive oil.

Pour in some boiling water and cook in the oven until the veggies are all cooked, about half an hour.

Sprinkle with chopped scallions and mix in the cooked beans.

We ate this at room temperature (which the cookbook recommends), and it was okay. I had leftovers for lunch today that I heated up and I liked that quite a bit more. Cold beans just don't do it for me.  Luckily, a perfectly cooked steak with garlic-butter sauce filled us right up.

white beans -- $2.49

celery -- $3.99

carrots --$1.29

potato -- $.69

turnip -- $1.23

scallions -- $.99

(with plenty of beans, celery, and carrots leftover)

Total Cost of Turkish-Style Oven-Braised Winter Vegetables: $10.68

($2.14 per serving)

Catalan Soup of White Beans Garnished with Shrimp (p. 146)

I love shrimp in pretty much any fashion, and this soup was no exception. They're saffron-y and tomato-y and are a nice pairing with the simple bean preparation that they sit upon.

Cook the beans in water along with sauteed onions and garlic for about 40 minutes, or until the beans are tender. Stir in salt and pepper.

While the beans are cooking, make a sort of tomato sauce by sautéing onion and garlic and olive oil. When the vegetables are very soft but not browned, mix in chopped, peeled tomato and a little sugar, as well as a crumbled dried red chili. Cook until this sauce thickens and the tomatoes begin to melt. Add in saffron and some wine (as the recipe calls for) or water (which I had on hand.)

Once the sauce is cooked to your liking, toss in the shrimp and cook just until they have changed color. Ladle the shrimp and tomato sauce mixture on top of each bowl of bean soup.

That picture doesn't do it justice, but this soup was really good. The saffron-infused shrimp was delicious, and there is a lot of shrimp in the soup, which was right up my alley. 

shrimp -- $10.13

tomato -- $1.87

onion -- $1.07

Total Cost of Catalan Soup of White Beans Garnished with Shrimp: $13.07

($4.36 per serving)

White Bean, Collard Greens, and Yellow Squash Soup (p. 138)

I made this soup the other night. The recipe actually calls for cavolo nero, or black cabbage, but that's kind of hard to come by, so I used collard greens instead.

I soaked the white beans over night with garlic and a bay leaf, and then cooked them in their soaking liquid when I was ready to make the soup. The beans took about 40 minutes to cook, at which point I took them off the heat and discarded the bay leaf.

The rest of the soup comes together quickly -- sauté onions until starting to brown and then add them to simmering chicken stock (or veggie, if you want it to be a vegetarian soup.) Do the same with squash -- I had butternut left over from a recipe last week.

Cut the greens into thin strips and add them into the soup, along with salt and pepper, leaving to cook for about 15 minutes until the greens are tender.

Add the beans and their water in with the rest of the soup and bring it back to a simmer. Serve with a little cheese on top!

This has a lot of greens in it. Maybe too many, for me. It's okay, but definitely not something I'd make again.

collard greens -- $1.99

yellow onion -- $1.03

Total Cost of White Bean, Collard Greens, and Yellow Squash Soup: $3.02

($.78 per serving)

Greek Baked Beans (p. 250)

I mentioned my escapades tracking down a few Mediterranean ingredients the other day, and one of those ingredients was for this recipe. Instead of finding true Greek gigantes ("giant" beans) I picked up some large lima beans to give Greek Baked Beans my best attempt.

The beans (soaked over night) need to be simmered for about 45 minutes before anything else.

This makes them tender, and, at least with the lima beans, makes their skins fall off. The recipe warned of foam that might rise to the top of my pan during this step, and it wasn't kidding.

Meanwhile, sauté chopped red onion in olive oil. When the beans are ready, use a slotted spoon to remove them from the pan and into an oven-safe dish. Save the water from the beans, though -- you'll want to dissolve some honey and tomato concentrate in some of it and then pour it back over the beans. Yup, that's what you'll want to do.

Add olive oil, the cooked onions, and chopped peeled tomatoes to the bean dish and tuck in a bay left.

Cook for about an hour and a half, and then add red wine vinegar and some fresh herbs (I just used parsley, since that's what I had) as well as salt and pepper. Cook a little bit longer and then serve.

I enjoyed this, but not as much as I liked Egyptian Beans with Olive Oil the other day, those were the bee's knees. This was good though, and I enjoyed it more on day 2 after the flavors had done some soaking.

tomatoes -- $3.29

lima beans -- $1.79
Total Cost of Greek Baked Beans:$5.08
($1.69 per serving)

Egyptian Beans with Olive Oil (p. 251)

Saturday I went to three different international food stores in Raleigh. Who knew it would be so hard to find a couple of ingredients for upcoming recipes? I didn't.

I had visited Harmony Mediterranean Market in Cary a few weeks ago to pick up grape leaves so that I can make dolmas soon, but in the mean time I had some other recipes to try out and needed to find Greek gigantes (giant) beans as well as Egyptian fava beans, or ful (pronounced fool.) I'm also in the market for harissa which I made on my own last May but now I'd like to try what's available commercially.

My first stop Saturday (after an eggs benedict crepe at Crepes and Coffee, that is) was at Around the World Market on Hillsborough Street which looked totally promising. Alas, after wandering through the aisles for about 20 minutes I left empty handed and headed up the street to check out Neomonde, where I've eaten in a bunch of times but never checked out their market place. They had the harissa, but that was it.

I asked the guy at Neomonde's for a recommendation, and he sent me down Method Street to Almdaina Supermarket, where I still couldn't find everything I wanted, but finally ended up getting some packages of beans that I thought were close enough.

For the Greek gigantes beans, I picked up a bag of giant lima beans.

And for the ful, I grabbed these fava beans.

The rest of the stuff is for future recipes, but I used the fava beans yesterday, first soaking them over night. 

Drain the beans and cover them with fresh water in a pot. Cook at a low simmer, covered, for about an hour, until tender, and then strain them again (this time reserving the water.)

Combine a small amount of the beans with some of the reserved liquid, mixing with a fork until it creates a thick liquid. Stir in a paste of garlic and salt as well as fresh lemon juice, and then add the remaining beans into the bowl with olive oil.

Serve garnished with scallions, parsley, and lemon wedges.

When I first pulled the lid off the cooking beans I thought they smelled disgusting. But then I completed the recipe and tried a taste and it was amazing. I guess I just don't love the smell of fava beans, but once this was dressed with the olive oil, garlic, and lemon it completely changed things. I'm looking forward to the leftovers.

beans -- $1.99 (most of the bag is left)

scallions -- $.99

lemons -- $1.29 (half a lemon is left)

Total Cost of Egyptian Beans with Olive Oil: $4.27

($1.07 per serving)

Bean and Farro Soup (p. 136)

I've been eyeing this recipe for a few weeks because I had pretty much all the ingredients for it at home -- all I need to purchase was a tomato.

Since I don't work until noon on Mondays, I whipped this up this morning to be able to take for dinner tonight.

In a stockpot, cover your pre-soaked and drained beans (I used navy, but any light-colored bean would do) in an inch of water and add in chopped onion, celery, and garlic as well as a bay leaf, a few fennel seeds, and black pepper. Let this simmer until the beans are tender, about 40 minutes.

Separately, put pre-soaked and drained farro in a pot with boiling water and cook until not-quite-tender.

Remove most of the beans to a food processor and puree them, then pour them back in with the whole beans remaining in the pot.

Add in chopped tomato and cook until the tomatoes have basically melted into the soup, then pour in the drained cooked farro.

Add salt and pepper and serve with bread and a little bit of parmesan on the side.

This was good, but definitely not my favorite of the soups I've been making lately. I think this would have better flavor in the summertime, when the tomatoes are at their peak.

tomato -- $1.64

Total Cost of Bean and Farro Soup: $1.64

($.55 per serving)

Fassolada (p. 136) and Moroccan Carrot Salad with Orange and Lemon Juice (p. 83)

Fassolada is Greek White Bean Soup and it's a great hearty soup that's pretty easy to make.

In a stock pot, cover white beans (that have been allowed to soak overnight) with water. Bring to a boil and then simmer, covered, for about a half an hour.

Meanwhile, sauté onions, carrots, and celery in olive oil. Once they have softened, add in diced green peppers.

Add this combo, along with tomato paste, into the pot with the beans and cook until the beans are done, about another half hour. Add in lemon juice and salt and pepper and serve.

Matt and I both really liked this. It's kind of like meatless chili and was definitely filling enough to be dinner. And we liked dunking crusty bread into the juices, too.

Since I was already buying carrots for the soup, I also made a Moroccan Carrot Salad with Orange and Lemon Juice. The carrots are supposed to be grated on the smallest holes of the grater but my smallest holes are super small, so it basically just gave me carrot juice and a bloody knuckle. After bandaging I chose a larger hole, with much success.

Mix the grated carrots with fresh-squeezed orange juice (yum), lemon juice, and a tiny bit of sugar. Top the salad with roasted walnuts (with their skins removed.)

I loved that the carrots weren't cooked in this recipe, and I liked the flavor of the orange. I don't need to make it again but I'll be good with tomorrow's leftovers.

beans -- $1.55 (the bulk are left)

onions -- $1.37 (half an onion left)

pepper -- $.99

celery -- $1.99 (most left) 

Total Cost of Fassolada: $5.90

($1.48 per serving)

carrots -- $.99

lemon -- $.69

oranges -- $1.20

Total Cost of Moroccan Carrot Salad with Orange and Lemon Juice: $2.88

($.96 per serving)

Mediterranean Bean Soup (p. 134)

I've had my eye on this recipe for a while, mostly just because it looked simple and I generally have most of the ingredients lying around my house.

It's just sauteed onions and garlic with beans (soaked overnight) and boiling water added in. Season it with thyme, parsley, a bay leaf, and salt and pepper, and then just let it simmer until the beans are cooked, which for me took about an hour and a half.

Unfortunately, this just wasn't all that interesting, flavor-wise. I'll finish it, but I'm not excited about it. Well, at least it was cheap.

onion -- $.55

Total Cost of Mediterranean Bean Soup: $.55

($.14 per serving)

Gratin de Haricots au Porc (p. 436)

This is a recipe you need to set aside a little time for -- I had hoped to make it yesterday before heading in to work around noon but got started too late to make it happen; you need to set aside about 2 hours for all the cooking.

That said, this is a pretty easy recipe. It is, as the recipe states, a "simple Cassoulet."

In a saucepan, cook pre-soaked beans with onions, parsley, garlic, a bay leaf, and olive oil in boiling water. Let this simmer for about 40 minutes. It smells ridiculously amazing. I'm really not sure what accounted for the smell, probably a mixture of the garlic and onion, but whatever it was, I want to capture it in a perfume bottle and wear it around town. Not really, but this smelled good.

At the same time, roast pork (the recipe calls for one large piece to be used, but I had two smaller pieces so I took Tim Gunn's advice and made it work) in the oven. To prep the pork, given it a little bath in olive oil and rub in salt and pepper. Cut some slits in the meat and stick chopped garlic in. Set this on a bed of thinly sliced onions, pour white wine on top, and roast for about 40 minutes. You're supposed to baste every ten minutes, but mine really didn't create the juices to be able to do that, perhaps because I halved the recipe.

The cassoulet is assembled by combining the drained beans with the onions and pork (now cut into small pieces.) Deglaze the roasting pan with more wine and add the brown juices from the pan into the dish. (Have I ever mentioned how much I love deglazing pans? Not only do you get the delicious flavors, but it also cuts down cleaning time!)

Stir in some of the reserved bean-cooking-juices, sprinkle on some bread crumbs, and pop it in the oven. After about half an hour, stir the bread crumbs into the top layer of beans and add more bread crumbs on top.

When it comes out of the oven it should have a sort of crust on top, and the majority of the liquid should be absorbed.

And then serve.

This was really good! The pork was juicy and I really liked the crisp topping. I wouldn't make this again (because it took so long) but I would definitely eat it again.

Also, we ate this with a lovely Greek wine that was a birthday present from a friend -- thanks, Angie!

CSA onion -- $.79

wine -- $2.50 (The price of one Target wine juice box, which leaves enough left over for a full glass of wine for one. Coincidence?)

pork -- $1.25

bay leaf -- $1.99 (I just used one from the package. Does anyone know how long they can last in the fridge?)

Total Cost of Gratin de Haricots au Pork: $6.53

Panissa (p. 232)

Panissa is Risotto with Salami and Beans, which sounds a little gross but is actually quite delicious.

It requires a little advance planning, though, as you need to soak the beans overnight. From there on, it's super easy.

Simmer the drained beans for about 40 minutes and then set them aside, reserving the water.

As with all of these recipes, get started by sautéing onion and garlic in olive oil. I was feeling saucy, so I  used red onion. Once these are nice and soft, add in chopped salami and short-grain rice.

Let this cook for a short amount of time, just until the fat from the salami is beginning to coat the rice. Add in some white wine and turn up the heat, allowing the wine to be quickly absorbed into the dish.

By the way, do you ever purchase wine juice boxes from Target? They're amazing, and oh so classy.

Next up, stir in the beans along with their cooking water.

From here on, this is like any other risotto -- slowly add simmering chicken stock into the pan in little bursts at a time, allowing the liquid to be absorbed before pouring in any more.

Once all the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is cooked, remove from the heat and stir in grated cheese to give it a creamier texture. Add a little more cheese to the top of each serving.

This was delicious and hearty and would have been a perfect fall dish if it weren't 80 degrees outside. We'll definitely make this one again; great flavors, interesting texture, and wonderful leftovers!

beans -- $1.79 (plenty left)

salami -- $2.38

wine -- $2.50 (price of one juice box -- a full glass was leftover)

Total Cost of Panissa: $6.67

Fresh Bean and Tuna Salad (p. 78)

I have a lot of trouble with the difference between beans and peas. What is it? I've looked it up (I actually devoted about an hour of research time to this the other day) but I still don't get it. So, I was supposed to use shelled fresh beans for this recipe. I researched beans, went to the store, and still came home with peas. Sugar snap peas, to be exact.

Whatever, I decided to deal with it and make the recipe anyway. I cooked the shelled peas for about 15 minutes in boiling water and then drained them and transfered them to a bowl. While still warm, I dressed the peas with olive oil and red wine vinegar as well as salt and pepper.

I flaked tuna (just the canned kind, drained of its oil) on top of the peas as well as very finely sliced red onion. The recipe also called for capers and parsley but I was tired of chopping, so I left them off.

The salad can be eaten hot or cold -- I chose cold, as my lunch. And it was delicious! Light but filling and with great flavors, I would definitely eat this again. Maybe by next time I'll figure out what a bean is.

red onion -- $1.13 (I have half left)

peas -- $8.05

Total Cost of Fresh Bean and Tuna Salad: $9.18

Falafel (Crisp Bean Fritters) with Tahini Sauce (p. 74)

We went to supper club last night and needed to bring the main vegetarian dish, but for supper club it's easier to have finger food, so I wanted to do something that would be easy to serve and eat. Enter falafel. 

I started soaking the white beans (I couldn't find fava, which are actually what's called for) and chick peas overnight. When I got home yesterday I drained the beans and threw them in the food processor briefly, just so they began to crumble, and then added the rest of the ingredients -- minced onion, parsley, and cilantro, a crushed garlic clove, baking powder and spices -- salt and pepper, cumin, and ground red chili pepper.

I processed all of these together until it was gritty in texture but seemed like it would hold together pretty well. I heated a lot of olive oil up in a sauté pan until it was super hot and then added smooshed balls of the mixture; they were basically small flat disks. 

Once one side was browned and crispy, I flipped the falafel, cooked the other side, and placed them on paper towels to drain some of the oil off. 

With this I made a tahini sauce, which is just tahini mixed with minced garlic, lemon juice, salt, and a little water. And I forgot to take a picture of it, sorry.

These should really be served immediately, but I had to make them in advance and bring them to supper club, where I reheated them in the microwave.

I really enjoyed these, and it seemed like everyone else did, too since there were no leftovers. I wish the sauce had been a little thinner than it was -- it would have been nice to just be able to dip instead of needing to spoon the tahini sauce onto the falafel, but the flavor was great.

onion -- $.76

lemon -- $.79

garbonzo beans -- $1.79 (I only used a half cup of these.)

Total Cost of Falafel (Crisp Brown Fritters) with Tahini Sauce: $3.34

Turkish Beans with Potatoes and Celery Root (p. 252) and Andalucian Spiced Mini-Kebabs (p. 101)

So this Turkish bean recipe is actually entitled Turkish Beans with Potatoes, Celery Root, and Carrots, but by this point I think we all know how I feel about carrots in any form other than raw raw raw. So I ditched them and decided that would be okay.

I started soaking the dried white beans last night so that this evening after work I just needed to drain them and start simmering them on the stove. The beans take about an hour to cook, but they're only alone in the pot for the first half hour. During that time I sauteed garlic and onion in olive oil. Once they were soft, I added in the peeled and chopped potato and celery root for about 15 minutes.

At this point the root veggies were starting to soften but not yet browning. I tossed them into the pot with the beans along with some salt and left them to simmer together for the last half hour.

When the bean dish was removed from the heat and ready to go I stirred in chopped parsley and served.

This is a really hearty and filling dish, and I liked the little bit of sweetness that the celery root brought to it.

The mini-kebabs are really more of an appetizer and are also called Pinchos Morunos. The only prep work they require is mixing together some spices for the marinade; minced garlic, salt, coriander seeds, cumin, turmeric (which I had to buy), and paprika combined with olive oil and lemon juice. Stir this all together, first grounding the garlic into the salt with a pestle, and then add the pork, cut into small pieces. Make sure all the meat is covered in the marinade and set aside in the fridge for about an hour.

I cooked mine under the broiler of the oven, but it could also be done on a grill. Thread the meat onto skewers that have been soaked for about a half hour.

Cook for 6 minutes, flipping once, and serve immediately.

These were incredibly delicious. I would make them again in a heartbeat, though I might leave out the coriander seeds because I don't love their flavor. Still, everything else -- exactly the same. The pork was cooked perfectly and it was super good. Make this one.

beans -- $1.29

celery root -- $4.99

potatoes -- $1.17 (CSA price)

Total Cost of Turkish Beans with Potatoes and Celery Root: $7.45

turmeric -- $1.82

pork -- $4.49

Total Cost of Andalucian Spiced Mini-Kebabs: $6.31

Fassolakia Yiahni (p. 323)

You should hear me try to pronounce that. I'm much better at saying Ragout of Fresh Green Beans, which may also be more descriptive to you, gentle readers.

I received a ton of green beans in my CSA box last week, so it was time to use them up. I also received yellow (or white?) green beans. What are they? I have no idea and didn't even Google them. I just included them in this recipe.

In "a pan large enough to hold all the vegetables," sauté garlic and onions in olive oil. Every time the recipe calls for "a pan large enough to hold all the vegetables" I start with my biggest skillet, or else my 2.5 quart pot that I do pasta in. They are never big enough. Note to self: always choose the stock pot first. As with every other recipe that has said this, I had to upgrade pots midway through cooking.

Once the onions have softened (and this recipe includes two onions, so this process takes a while) add in the green beans (topped and tailed) and peeled potatoes cut into chunks. Stir everything together so that the onion/olive oil mixture coats all the beans, and then add in coarsely chopped tomatoes, a dried hot red chili and salt and pepper. Add a tiny bit of water and let this simmer for an hour.

Once the veggies are all soft and the tomatoes have become a sauce, the Fassolakia Yiahni is ready.

This is good, but a little sweeter than I like my veggies to be, probably because of the number of tomatoes (5!). Next time, more salt. It also makes a ton of food, so I froze about half of it because I'm going out of town for the weekend (Wilmington!) and I don't want it to all go bad.

Also, a note about olive oil. I actually ran out yesterday. I'd been using a 3 liter can of Earthfare olive oil (thanks Meg!) and incredibly, the last drips were used up yesterday. Please meet my new helper in this cooking project:

Yup, that's an extra 2 liters of olive oil loving.

tomatoes -- $7.57

onions -- $2.64

potatoes -- $2.92
beans: 4.88

Total Cost of Fassolakia Yiahni: $18.01