In soup, with meat and even in salad, the beans are cooked by countless cultures and served in workers' kitchens and gourmet restaurants • When the rain is in the window, there is nothing like it to warm the heart and mind
Culinary melting pot.
Rustic bean salad
Photography:
Ithiel Zion
What a wonderful dish the beans are.
The protein-rich bean, its whole worlds of varieties, has been cooked by countless cultures in hundreds of different and varied ways.
Beans are seen as food for the poor, and we often imagine them in working-class restaurants, which treat it as a substitute for meat.
But the truth is that even kitchens that boast three stars, and are scattered around the world, love to work with beans and create gourmet dishes based on classic dishes.
In our tiny country, which is also a melting pot in the culinary aspect, the types of beans are served in various meat dishes and soups such as minestrone, leg or tail, and the beans also connect wonderfully to tomatoes, various meats, sour flavors, cumin, coriander and more.
Now that winter is right here or probably around the corner, I have decided that it would be right to cook some beans for you.
Rustic bean salad
The beans are also wonderful as part of a salad, and you can find many salads around the world that combine different and varied types of beans.
I chose to serve you a bean salad that takes my imagination to France, Italy and maybe even Spain.
Beans with root vegetables, vinegar, olive oil, chili, fennel seeds and grated lemon peel.
All this happiness is served with delicately cooked chicken, in confit cooking, alongside fresh leaves and fresh tomato paste.
All that is missing is quality bread and a glass of wine, rain outside and sounds of a storm wind, and the experience is complete and perfect.
Ingredients (for 6 diners):
√ 1 cup speckled beans, soaked overnight in water and cooked until soft
√ 1/4 cup olive oil
√ 2 cloves garlic slices
√ 1 teaspoon ground shatta pepper
√ 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
√ 1 peeled purple onion And cut into small cubes
√ 1 peeled carrot and cut into small cubes
√ 2 American celery stalks cut into small cubes
√ 3 tablespoons cherry vinegar
√ 1 teaspoon Atlantic salt
√ 1 teaspoon dashi powder
√ 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
√ 1 tablespoon chopped young celery leaves
√ Grated peel 1 lemon
To fly confit:
√ 3 clean chicken legs
√ 2 cups olive oil
√ 2 fresh bay leaves
√ Peel of 1 lemon
√ 8 English peppercorns
√ 1 halved garlic head
√ 10 whole black peppercorns
√ 1 sage branch
To serve:
√ 3 Maggi tomatoes grated and seasoned with olive oil and salt
√ A handful of mustard leaves
Start preparing the chicken.
Arrange the squash in a deep roasting pan, cover with olive oil and add the rest of the ingredients.
Place in a preheated oven at 140 degrees for an hour, remove and set aside for at least an hour.
Remove the loins from the oil, separate the meat from the bones and set aside.
Now heat a wide pan over medium heat, add the olive oil, garlic, shatta and fennel seeds and fry for about 2 minutes.
Add the onion, carrot and celery and fry for another 3-4 minutes.
Add the beans, mix and season with the cherry vinegar, salt and dashi powder.
Stir, cook for another 2 minutes and remove from the heat.
Add the parsley and celery leaves, mix and set aside to rest for an hour.
Add the shredded chicken confit from the bone, stir, add the grated lemon peel and serve alongside the tomato paste and mustard leaves.
Mexican bean soup
I'm crazy about combining brown or black beans with cumin, smoked chipotle pepper, lime and cilantro.
This combination of flavors, created in the cuisines of Central and South America, is precise and stormy.
I made a soup from it that I deliberately choose to refine with a little sweet cream and serve with a smooth texture, but it will also be wonderful coarse without tahini and without cream, if you want to serve with meat.
I serve the soup with avocado, which I sliced a little on a gas flame, spicy-sour salsa and a tablespoon of sour cream, which will add creaminess and refine a little.
For lovers of the Mexican genre, this soup is simply a must.
Ingredients (for 6 diners):
√ 2 cups brown beans soaked overnight in water
√ 1/4 cup olive oil
√ 1 white onion peeled and chopped
√ 1 peeled and chopped carrot
√ 2 chopped celery stalks
√ 3 cloves garlic
√ 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
√ 1 Tablespoon tomato paste
√ 1 cup freshly grated tomatoes or
1 can of quality canned tomatoes
√ 5 dried chipotle peppers
√ 4 cups vegetable stock or water
√ 1 small bundle of coriander
√ 1 tablespoon salt
√ 2 tablespoons honey
√ 3 tablespoons cherry vinegar
√ 1 cup sweet cream
For salsa:
√ 10 pcs hot chili roasted, peeled and finely chopped
√ 1 clove chopped garlic
√ 1 onion finely chopped shallot
√ 1 teaspoon sugar
√ 1 teaspoon salt
√ juice from 2 lime
√ 1 grated tomato
To serve:
√ 2 peeled avocados
√ 3 roasted Maggie tomatoes
√ 1 container of sour cream
√ 1 bunch of fresh coriander
Heat a heavy, wide saucepan over medium heat, add the olive oil, onion, carrot, celery and garlic and fry for about 10 minutes, until deep golden.
Add the cumin seeds and tomato paste and fry for another minute, add the tomatoes and chipotle and scrub the bottom of the pot well with a spoon.
Add the vegetable stock, coriander and beans and bring to a boil.
Cover the pot and cook for about an hour and a half.
Remove the lid, add the salt, honey and vinegar, cook for another 10 minutes and remove from the heat.
Transfer the stew to a blender, grind to a smooth texture and transfer the liquid through a fine sieve to another pot.
Return to the heat, bring to a gentle boil, add the sweet cream, mix, adjust seasoning and pour into serving plates.
The salsa is prepared by mixing all the ingredients in a bowl.
Place a slice of avocado and roasted tomato pieces on each plate and serve with the salsa, cilantro and sour cream.
Chicken and bean casserole
Bean and meat stew, originating in France.
I opted for chicken legs that are cooked until tender with the beans.
In many cases I like to create this dish with goose or duck shank, so feel free to substitute.
The cassola is a kind of broth: simple, cheap, tasty and satisfying.
You can start cooking on the gas and continue in the oven, or on a stove or oven.
Here too good wine and winter sounds are requested to complete the experience.
Ingredients (for 6 diners):
√ 1 cup of lime beans, soaked overnight in water and cooked in water for an hour
√ 1 cup of white beans, soaked overnight in water and cooked in water for an hour
√ 6 small and clean chicken legs
√ 1/4 cup of olive oil
√ 2 chopped white onions For small cubes
√ 2 peeled and cut carrots into small cubes
√ 3-4 thinly sliced celery sticks
√ 1 can of crushed tomatoes
√ 1/2 1 cups dry white wine
√ 2 cups chicken
stock √ 3 peeled garlic cloves
√ 3 bay leaves
√ 2 rosemary sprigs
√ 1 tablespoon salt
√ 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
√ 1 bunch chopped parsley to serve
Heat a heavy iron pot over medium heat, add the olive oil, sear the chicken legs, skin down, and season with a little salt and pepper.
Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside.
Add the onion, carrot and celery to the pot and sauté for 5-6 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.
Add the tomatoes and sear them while scrubbing the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon.
Add the white wine, the two types of beans, the chicken, the chicken stock and the spices and bring to the boil.
Leave to boil for about 10 minutes.
Reduce heat, cover the pot with a lid and cook for about an hour and a half.
Remove the lid, cook for another half hour to reduce the liquids, add the chopped parsley and serve.
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