Conscious Choice: Heart-Warming February Fare

February 2003 | Cooking with the Seasons

Heart-Warming February Fare

by Terra Brockman

Love and food are famously entwined. Just think about every traditional mother’s cry of "Eat! Eat!" Or the adage that gives instructions on the way to a man’s heart. Or George Bernard Shaw’s observation that "there is no love sincerer than the love of food." There is something about good, simple food that, like a loving touch, has the power to comfort and thrill.

This is the time of year when glossy magazines prompt you to try extraordinary (and extraordinarily out of season) recipes such as wild rice with asparagus and white wine-raspberry sauce, passion fruit meringues, or chocolate covered strawberries with champagne (I’m not making these up!)...but food, even Valentine’s Day food, is not about impressing people; it’s about making them feel comfortable. If someone says that’s not so, you can tell them they don’t know beans.

Because beans — we’re talking shell beans here — are one of the simplest, most nutritious, and most under-rated foods around. And it’s often the under-rated things that we love the most, such as, a loved one’s threadbare corduroy pants or wind-blown mop of hair. I propose a meltingly delicious winter soup or stew made with dried shell beans.

Shell beans, like cabbage, turnips, parsnips, and other such low-ranking vegetables, are finally making a comeback. Unlike edible pod beans (green beans), shell beans are shelled from their thin pod, boiled, and eaten. Since our lives are now too busy to spend time out on the porch or around the table shelling beans, these beans are now more often known as dry beans. They are inexpensive, nutritious, and a warm comfort in this last wintry month, equidistant from the last root vegetables of fall and the first bright greens of spring.

If you invite a special someone to share one of the classic, heart-warming bean dishes below, who knows what might happen on a long winter’s night. But if you find yourself alone, remember the old Spanish saying: "Between soup and love, the first is better."

White Bean Soup with Garlic and Parsley

(Adapted from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, Marcella Hazan, 1992, Knopf)

In her introduction to this simple and delicious soup, Hazan writes, "If one really loves beans, all one really wants in a bean soup is beans." That’s what you get here, with just enough olive oil and garlic to help the cannellini beans express themselves. You can reduce the water to make a dish thick enough to serve as a side vegetable, or thin enough to serve as a soup.

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

2 cups dried cannellini or other white beans (or 6 cups canned, drained)

1/2 teaspoon salt

freshly ground black pepper

1 cup meat or vegetable broth

1. If using dried beans, put the beans in a bowl and add enough water to cover them by at least 3 inches. Let sit in a cool spot overnight. When the beans have finished soaking, drain and rinse in cold water. Put them in a pot that will accommodate them plus another 3 inches of water. Cover the pot and simmer over medium heat. When the water boils, adjust the heat so that the beans simmer gently. Cook until tender, not mushy, about 45 to 60 minutes.

2. Add the oil and chopped garlic in a soup pot placed over medium heat. Cook the garlic, stirring until a very pale gold.

3. Add the drained, cooked beans, salt, and a few grindings of pepper. Cover and simmer for five to six minutes.

4. Take about one-half cup of beans from the pot and puree them with some of the liquid. Return the mixture to the pot and simmer for another five to six minutes. Add more salt and pepper if you wish. Swirl in the chopped parsley and turn off the heat. Ladle into soup bowls. Serves four to six people.

Italian Pasta and Bean Soup

(Adapted from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, Marcella Hazan, 1992, Knopf)

The classic bean for this classic soup (Pasta e Fagiolo) is the cranberry or Scotch bean. It is round and plump, about the size of a pinto bean, but dappled with pink and wine-colored splotches. If you can’t find cranberry beans, substitute dried red kidney beans.

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 Tablespoons chopped onion

3 Tablespoons chopped carrot

3 Tablespoons chopped celery

3 or 4 pork ribs or a ham bone with some lean meat attached

2/3 cup canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, cut up, with their juice.

1 cup dried cranberry or red kidney beans, or 3 cups canned beans, drained

3 cups (or more) meat or vegetable broth

salt

freshly ground black pepper

1/2 pound small tubular pasta

1 Tablespoon butter

2 Tablespoons freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

1. If using dried beans, put the beans in a bowl and add enough water to cover them by at least 3 inches. Let sit in a cool spot overnight. When the beans have finished soaking, drain and rinse in cold water. Put them in a pot that will accommodate them plus another 3 inches of water. Cover the pot and place on medium heat. When the water boils, adjust the heat so that it simmers steadily, but gently. Cook until tender, not mushy, about 45 to 60 minutes.

2. Put the olive oil and chopped onion in a soup pot and turn on the heat to medium. Cook the onion, stirring it until pale gold.

3. Add carrot and celery, stirring to coat with oil. Add the meat. Cook for about 10 minutes, turning from time to time with a wooden spoon.

4. Add tomatoes and juice. Adjust the heat so that the juices simmer very gently. Cook for 20 minutes.

5. Add the drained cooked or canned beans, stirring them thoroughly to coat. Cook for five minutes, then add the broth, cover the pot, and bring the broth to a gentle boil.

6. Scoop up about one-half cup of beans and puree them with some of the liquid. Return the mixture to the pot. Add salt and pepper and stir thoroughly.

7. Check the soup for its consistency. It should be liquid enough to cook the pasta. If necessary, add more broth or water. When the soup has come to a steady boil, add the pasta. Stop cooking when the pasta is tender, but still firm to the bite. Before turning off the heat, swirl in the butter and cheese.

8. Pour the soup into individual bowls and allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving. It tastes best when eaten warm, not hot. Serves four to six people.

Basque Stew of White Beans, Cabbage, and Ham

(Adapted from Bistro Cooking, Patricia Wells, Workman, 1989)

Wells notes that the goose confit or preserved goose gizzards are necessary for the dish to be considered "authentically Basque" but that substituting a good-quality smoked sausage, such as kielbasa, will still be delicious.

1 1/2 cups (10 ounces) dried white beans

3 ounces Parma ham

8 garlic cloves, chopped

1 onion, finely chopped

4 carrots, peeled and cut into rounds

4 leeks, trimmed, well-rinsed and cut into thin rounds

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 green cabbage, quartered

1 pound potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 piece goose confit cut into bite-size pieces

2 preserved good gizzards, cut into bite size pieces

1. Rinse the beans and place in a large saucepan. Add cold water to cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, remove the pan from the heat, leave the cover on, and let rest for 40 minutes. Drain the beans, discarding the cooking liquid.

2. In a large oven-proof casserole, combine the beans, ham, and garlic. Add two quarts of water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the carrots and leeks. Season lightly with the salt. Cover and simmer for one hour.

3. Add the cabbage and potatoes and continue cooking until all of the vegetables are tender — about 15 minutes more. Add the goose confit and gizzards and simmer until the meats are warmed through, another 10 minutes.

4. Serve the soup immediately, in warmed shallow bowls. Serves four to six people.

Terra Brockman is the director of The Land Connection Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving farmland and promoting small-scale, diversified, organic agriculture in Illinois. Visit www.thelandconnection.org or call 309-965-2407 to learn how to get involved.

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