White Beans Provence—one of my family’s favorite bean dishes that also happens to be easy, delicious and healthy!
White Beans Provence
1 tablespooon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup celery, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 cups navy beans, cooked (*see below)
1 cup stock, vegetable or chicken
1 teaspoon herbes de provence (or substitute thyme)
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
In a medium-sized skillet, heat the olive oil and saute the onion, celery and garlic till soft and transluscent. Add the remaining ingredients, except the parsely, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add parsley, salt and pepper, simmer uncovered for another five minutes, and voila!
*I use dried organic beans because almost all prepared beans come in cans lined with a substance containing Bisphenol A (BPA), a known carginogen. And I’m here to tell you that cooking with dried beans is easy! To get two cups of cooked navy beans, start with one cup of dried. Soak them in three cups of water for twelve hours, drain and rinse, put them in a pot with three times as much water, and cook for 30 minutes. Getting to this point requires virtually no work by the cook. For example, while the beans soak you can be doing something else, like sleeping!
White Beans Provence makes a great side dish, or it can be served as a main with a nice crisp salad on the side. And this is what’s for dinner at my house tonight.
Until next time,
Lee