Spinach and Cannellini Beans with Fontina Polenta
Greens and Beans with Polenta
Loosely adapted from Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy by Lidia Bastianich
Though this dish may not sound flavorful and exciting, it packs a good flavor punch. Throw in some garlic, pancetta, and cheese and it turns beans and spinach into a savory delightful and warming comfort food.
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Buttered Haricot Verts with Toasted Almonds
Buttered Haricot Vert with Toasted Almonds
Haricot Vert is French for green bean. The green beans grown in France tend to be thinner and more delicate, but with a great deep flavor. You can definitely substitute American green beans or string beans in this recipe, just try and pick out the thinner, smaller beans.
For this recipe I actually use Trader Joe’s frozen haricot vert, which defrost and heat up beautifully, offering availability of a great summer vegetable in the fall and winter. In fact, I intend to use this recipe for a green side dish this Thanksgiving, since it’s super fast, requires little attention, and is difficult to mess up. If you decide to add this dish to your Thanksgiving menu, or other dinner party I highly recommend toasting the almonds earlier in the day and setting them aside. This way you won’t get distracted and burn them.
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Shelled Tongue of Fire Beans
Tongue of Fire Beans
As I mentioned the other week in my tip about cooking with fresh shell beans, these Tongue of Fire beans were amazing. I’m looking forward to searching out some other varieties of fresh shelling beans to learn the differences in cooking times, tastes, and textures.
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Tongue of Fire - Fresh Shell Beans
Tuesday Tip – Give Beans a Chance
Beans are good for you. Canned, dried, or fresh, they are relatively inexpensive. Full of fiber and low in fat, beans fill you up. However, beans aren’t always a favorite food. Growing up I was not a fan. I liked my chili without beans, or as my mom would say, “You like hamburger soup.”
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