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Cheap Eats: White bean salad

Looks like I’m soon to be eating beans again. So I’ve been rummaging in the cookbook in search of old favorite ways to fix them. Here’s one I found in Sunset Magazine back in the days when it was really a superb resource for food and household projects. It’s very old, but very good:

White Bean Salad

  • 1 pound dried white beans
  • 2 Tbsp white vinegar (I use white wine vinegar)
  • 1 Tbsp Dijon-style mustard
  • 4 drops Tabasco (I’ve used those Korean dried pepper flakes)
  • 1/3 cup salad oil (I use olive oil or a combination of olive & some other vegetable oil)
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • about 2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil or 2 tsp dried basil
  • about 1 1/2 tsp chopped mint leaves
  • about 3 Tbsp each chopped parsley and green onion
  • minced garlic clove
  • a couple of handsful of cherry tomatoes, halved

Cook the beans: First wash them in a colander, picking them over for any that look spoiled and for any small stones. They seem to taste best if you use the long method:

The night before, put the beans in a Dutch oven and cover generously with cold water. Soak overnight. In the morning, drain beans into a colander and rinse. Return to pan and cover generously with water. Bring to a simmer or slow boil and then turn the heat to “low.” Cook until they’re tender. Time depends on how old the beans are—anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes, I’d say. Test by picking up a bean or two with a spoon or fork and blowing on it. If your breath splits the skin, it’s probably done. Taste to be sure…it should be on the soft side of al dente.

If you forget the previous evening, here’s the short method of cooking dried beans:

Cover the beans in a Dutch oven with cold water. Place over high heat. Bring to a full, rolling boil and count to one minute. Immediately remove the pan from the heat and let the beans set for one hour. Drain and rinse. Return beans to pan and cover with fresh water. Bring the heat to a simmer or slow boil and then cook until tender over low heat.

Make the salad:

Mix the vinegar with the mustard. Using a wire whip, whisk in the oil a few drops at a time to make a fairly thickish sauce. Mix this and all the ingredients except tomatoes with the warm beans. Stir gently but well. Chill thoroughly—at least four hours, but overnight is fine.

Shortly before serving, add the cherry tomatoes, halved. Garnish with a few sprigs of mint, if available.

This bean salad is good on its own—makes great snacking food to keep in the fridge—and splendid when served with good grilled sausages.

Cheap Eats: Easy, yummy cabbage

A couple of months ago, a commenter on one of the many PF blogs I read-believe it was The Simple Dollar-asked how you make cabbage. This elicited several recipes for boiled cabbage and hot dishes. All of these are delicious. But I didn’t see any that resembled my favorite. Here it is.

To make a side dish of two to four servings, you need:
1/2 head of cabbage (I happen to like red, but green is just as good)
1 apple
1/2 onion
about a tablespoon dill weed or dill seed
about 2 teaspoons fennel seed, or more, to taste
a little cumin, about ¼ to ½ teaspoon, to taste (optional)
a dash of cinnamon or nutmeg, if desired (highly optional)
a little dried or fresh thyme, if desired (optional)
small amount beef broth or water
splash of red or white wine, if available
dash of vinegar (add to taste)
Tabasco sauce (add to taste; very optional)
|salt and pepper to taste.
olive oil or butter
frying pan

Cut a head of cabbage in half. Put one half back in the refrigerator for future use. Take the other half and slice it thinly, crosswise, to create a “shredded” effect. Chop the onion coarsely. Cut the apple in quarters; cut out and discard the core. Chop the apple coarsely (no need to peel it, but you can if desired).

Skim the bottom of the pan with olive oil or melt a pat of butter in the pan. Place the chopped onion in the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, over medium-high heat. Cook the onion until softened. Personally, I like to turn the heat down to medium and allow the onion to cook until it’s slightly caramelized — this makes the onions nice and sweet.

When the onions are cooked to your taste, add the sliced-up cabbage. Stir this around to start softening it. Add the cut-up apple and the spices of your choice. Stir to mix well. As the cabbage gets to the point where it’s softening, add a little water or beef broth; if you have it, splash in a little wine. Turn the heat to low, cover the pan, and allow the cabbage to simmer gently until it is cooked to your taste. I prefer not to overcook mine; this takes about 20 minutes, but it can sit on the stove for a fair time without harm.

I like to grind the fennel, dill, and cumin seeds in a molcajete –– a mortar & pestle — but this is not necessary. You can use ground cumin that comes in a jar or whole cumin seeds, if you choose to add cumin at all. As you can see by all the optional ingredients, this is a very forgiving dish. You can pretty much combine anything that makes you happy and still come out with a tasty product.

Last time I cooked cabbage — and took this picture right after adding the cabbage to the pan — I sliced the onions instead of chopping them. Onion rings are a little unwieldy for this dish. I think cutting the onion into chunks is better.

Just before serving, adjust the seasoning by adding a light splash of vinegar and a little salt and pepper. Taste it. Add more vinegar and, if desired, a few drops of hot sauce for zing.

Serve this with a mess of grilled sausages and some crispy French or Italian bread for a great summer meal. It’s also really good with roast, grilled, or fried chicken; awesome with roast pork or with grilled or fried pork chops; and good to eat on its own.