Spanish-style vegetarian white bean stew

Bean dishes are one of my favorite comfort foods, as you can probably already tell. I think it goes all the way back to my childhood, when we would eat a Spanish white bean and pork stew (yup, I was an omnivore back then) - which my grandfather said was my great-great-grandmother's recipe. It starts with a base of Spanish sofrito* - generous amounts of onions, garlic, and tomatoes sauteed in olive oil, to which white beans and pork pieces are added to slowly simmer in water until the beans are tender and the liquid is thick.

I learned from my late grandfather to generously douse good quality extra-virgin olive oil on top of your beans and dip warm bread into it, and I've always loved it this way (despite my rice-loving Filipino self). I still make it to this day (sans pork) and even my Indian husband likes it. I add a little bit of pimenton de la vera (Spanish smoked sweet paprika) to add more depth of flavor, and it does wonders to add complexity to this dish. I find that the regular paprika just doesn't cut it.

Beans... ah, such a humble, yet powerhouse ingredient. It's the main source of protein in our household. It also has other nutrients/ benefits like iron, magnesium, and fiber. Starting from dry beans is crucial here, because you want the beans to absorb the flavors as they cook.

And it's such a comfort to warm up to a hearty bowl of beans, as I am taken back to my childhood...

However, this might be one of my last recipe posts for hearty bean stews (at least till fall) as we've been having 60's/70's degree weather in Cleveland this week! Time to lighten up my recipes :)

I'm calling this stew "Spanish-style" and not "Spanish" because the original recipe calls for either pork pieces, chorizo, morcilla, ham, etc. There are many variations of this recipe online too such as this recipe for Fabada Asturiana.

Spanish-style White Bean Stew

• 1 lb (about 2 cups) dried white beans: Great Northern, cannellini, alubia blanca (Spanish white long beans) or judion beans if you can get it - soaked overnight
• olive oil
• 1 white or yellow onion, chopped
• a lot of garlic (by your definition of "a lot" - honestly I lost count with mine, so I'm not specifying quantities here)
• about 3 cups of chopped tomatoes, fresh or packaged chopped tomatoes in juice. (if you get packaged ones, try the San Marzano variety which is an heirloom tomato)
• kosher salt and pepper
• 1/2 - 1 teaspoon pimenton de la vera**, or Spanish smoked sweet paprika (this makes all the difference to get that smoky, earthy flavor; start with half a teaspoon first if you're unsure)
• 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
• water or vegetable broth - enough to cover the beans about an inch
• 1 whole dried bay leaf

Heat olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pot. Add the onions and a pinch of salt (season as you go, a la Barefoot Contessa) and black pepper. Let the onions cook until soft, then add the tomatoes, garlic, and paprika. Let this mixture cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until it has an almost saucy consistency  (this is your sofrito). You can also add the tomato paste halfway through when you are cooking the onion-tomato-garlic mixture.

sofrito

Add the beans and enough water or vegetable broth to cover the beans by about an inch or so. If you are a "seasoned" bean eater, you can use the soaking water as it has vitamins and minerals from the beans. Add a small pinch of salt, as well as the bay leaf (which you might be interested to note, helps make the beans more digestible if you are a non-seasoned bean eater) and the pimenton de le vera. Let it come up to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and let it simmer for a couple of hours. Check it every so often to make sure it is not drying out, and add more liquid as needed - but not too much. I generally prefer the liquid to end up thick and velvety because that's how I remember it from my childhood, but you can certainly make it more soupy if that's what you like.

I know some sources say not to add acidic ingredients (vinegars, tomato, citrus) before the beans are tender as it can toughen the beans or slow down the cooking. But, this is a slow-cooked dish anyway and I let it be on the stovetop for a few hours at a simmer or cook in a slow cooker. And I just don't know any other way for this dish, especially since I want the beans to absorb the sofrito flavor from the start. 

When the beans are tender and the stew has reached your desired consistency, check for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste. If you want a thicker stew, you can mash some beans against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon.

Ladle into bowls, and douse the top with some good quality extra-virgin olive oil and a small pinch of pimenton de la vera. Serve with warm crusty bread for dipping.

Spanish-style white bean stew

* A sofrito is used as a base for many dishes, and there are several different versions depending on the dish you are making. Some versions call for chopped green bell pepper, or Anaheim pepper. The tomato-onion-garlic is the most basic one, I think, and I remember loving this flavor base. I remember in my childhood, we would sometimes thicken it to almost a relish or chutney kind of consistency, to serve alongside a humble dish of poached chicken and vegetables (pochero). Anyway, the sofrito is key for this bean dish, so don't shortcut this step! If you want to make these beans in a slow cooker, just remember to cook the sofrito separately or in advance and then add it to the slow cooker when you start.

** Here are a few sources for pimenton de la vera (remember to choose the sweet smoked one - there is also Spanish hot smoked paprika and bittersweet smoked paprika, which you can try in this dish - let me know how it goes - but I prefer the sweet smoked variety)

Hot Paella
La Tienda
Penzeys also has Spanish smoked paprika but the website doesn't specify if it is sweet or hot or bittersweet - but if you have a store near you, you could check it out at the store or ask the manager.

I use the La Chinata brand of pimenton which I got at TJ Maxx (or was it Home Goods or Marshalls? Can't remember) - you never know what you might find in these discount stores.

The shipping for those "specialty" beans I mentioned above (judion, alubia blanca) are a little pricey, but since it's a flat rate, see if you might split the cost with a friend/fellow bean aficionado near you.

spring is in the air

soon, very soon... this tree will be lush and green

It was 60+ degrees again today. There's no mistaking it - spring is definitely in the air.

I took a walk this afternoon and actually broke a sweat. Ok, ok... that obviously speaks to my recent  preference for light moderate light exercise. ;-)

There's something about this time of year - the sweetness of patient anticipation as we wait for winter to become spring, as nature intended. There's something magical about this feeling of being on the brink and the potential that lies ahead. Nature reminds us to accept change and transition... to take pleasure in the little things - even if it is just something as simple as wearing a short-sleeve T-shirt for the first time this year. It reminds me that the best things in life can't be rushed. As a wise friend says, there is grace in waiting.

I am thankful for
longer days
working in my home office, bathed in afternoon sunlight streaming in through the window
perfect blue skies
warm sunshine on my face
an unmistakably spring-like breeze
the sense of hopefulness radiating from the earth under my feet
movement
my first cold shower* of the year


* NOT my first shower of the year! Haha!

Sunday brunch

There's something special about Sunday brunch. Whether we have it at home, or go out to one of our favorite brunch places such as Lucky's in Tremont or The Flying Fig in downtown Cleveland, brunch is just a leisurely, carefree time of day that reminds us to just enjoy the moment. Both places are quite a trek from where we live (by that I mean 30-40 minutes), but the food is so good, it's worth the trip.  I love both places due to the fact that they have vegetarian brunch dishes; and they source many of their ingredients locally.

Yesterday however we just stayed home, and I wanted to cook something I don't normally make for brunch. Typically weekend brunch here might just be simple toast, jam, and either poached/boiled eggs or an omelet/frittata. Or if A. cooks, we have poha, which is a traditional Indian breakfast. Every now and then we have pancakes, but I was in the mood for something savory.

One of my favorite brunch items at the Flying Fig is a dish of creamy polenta with wilted greens - either spinach or kale or some other greens depending on the season - and sauteed mushrooms (which they source from a local farm), and topped with a crispy poached egg. Crispy poached egg, you ask? Yes - it's a poached egg coated in panko breadcrumbs and flash fried to golden brown. It's an amazing study of textures - you break that crusty, crispy crust and yet you have that soft, runny poached egg inside.

The Flying Fig's creamy polenta dish

So I made my own version of the dish (without the 2-step crispy poached egg though), but I had to get creative with the ingredients I had. I almost always have polenta - and I use the quick-cooking kind that comes together in just a few minutes. Unfortunately I didn't have fresh greens left (only frozen, which wouldn't work here). I did, however, have olives and sun-dried tomatoes, so I decided to make a relish or pesto out of it - just finely chopped with some herbs and extra-virgin olive oil.

my Sunday brunch creation

Creamy Polenta with Sun-Dried Tomato and Olive Pesto and Poached Egg

Polenta:
2 cups vegetable broth or water
2 cups whole milk
pinch of kosher salt
3/4 cup quick-cooking polenta
about 1/3 cup grated parmigiano reggiano

Pesto:
1/2 cup chopped kalamata olives (or regular black olives if you find kalamata too salty)
1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes (rehydrated in hot water for about 10 minutes)
extra virgin olive oil
chopped basil or parsley
(I didn't add salt because I used kalamata - but you would probably need a pinch of it if you use regular black olives)

Poached eggs
Chives or parsley

Polenta: Combine the broth and milk in a saucepan. Add a pinch of salt. Let it come to a boil, then slowly add the polenta while whisking (this prevents clumps). If using quick-cooking polenta, this mixture comes together in under five minutes; if using regular polenta, it might take 15-20. Once the mixture is creamy, add the grated parmigiano reggiano. Cover and set aside. (Note - this made a LOT of polenta for just two of us, but I like having some leftover for another dish)

Pesto: Combine all ingredients - you can chop by hand or in a food processor. I chopped them by hand because I didn't want a very fine pesto for this dish - I wanted small pieces of olives and the chewy-ness of sun-dried tomatoes. Since the rest of the dish is soft and creamy, I wanted a little texture contrast. The quantities specified above result in more than what you would need for 2 servings of this dish, but it makes a nice topping for bruschetta later. :)

Poached egg: Bring a small saucepan of water to a bare simmer. Crack an egg into a bowl. Take a spoon and make stirring motions in the water, to create a "whirlpool". Slowly lower the egg from the bowl into the water - I actually lower the sides of the bowl into the water and let the egg slip out that way. The "whirlpool" will help the egg come together, but you can help it along by "stirring" the water (not the egg!) just along the inside wall of the saucepan. (Some people add a small splash of vinegar to the water to help "tighten" the egg, but A. is a bit particular about vinegar-y smells, so I do without. But fresher eggs seem to hold together just fine.) Let the eggs poach for about 3 minutes until the whites are set and the yolk is still runny. Line a plate with a paper towel, then use a slotted spoon to gently lift the egg from the water and drain it on the plate. (Here is a nice photo-tutorial on making perfect poached eggs.)

Spoon about a cup of polenta into a wide bowl, add the pesto and then top with the poached egg. Add a small pinch of salt over the egg, as well as freshly cracked black pepper all over. Snip some chives (or parsley or whatever herbs you like) over the top.

YUM.

Yesterday we had amazing 60-degree weather. A. and I went out in the afternoon for a nice long walk on the trails, about an hour and ten minutes... and, we had our first smoothies this year! We actually sat outside in the sunshine with our icy treats. Can't wait for spring.

connecting, seeing, living - by photographer Penny de los Santos

This photographer and friend of mine sent me an email this morning about an event happening TONIGHT - Chef Dan Barber and photographer Penny de los Santos speaking at the Cleveland Public Library. Food and photography: what's not to like? Unfortunately, Thursday night is my teaching night at the university, so I won't be able to make it. Darn.

But I did chance upon Penny de los Santos' TEDxTalk above (I think TED Talks are one of the best things since chocolate). What she says is everything I aspire to be/do: to savor moments and connect meaningfully with others.

Worth watching! 

there's so much packed into these three and a half minutes...

One of my brothers shared this video with me, and what the speaker in the video says is just resonating with me on so many levels. (This is so like my brother to share something like this; I love his unique take on life and spirituality.)

This reminds me of the movie Gattaca - the last scene where Ethan Hawke's character (the "love child" or non-genetically engineered person) finally makes it to outer space - he said something like "Every atom in our body was once part of a star. Maybe I'm going home." Loved that movie...

This video also makes me think about why we (humans) can't be more compassionate towards others/other races/other religions/other levels of ability or disability, etc when we are all essentially made up of the same stuff. Not to say there isn't any goodness in us. There is. Ego just gets in the way sometimes. But then again it's probably human nature to feel threatened by those who, on superficial levels, "seem" different than ourselves... perhaps, because sticking to "our kind" has what helped us survive over thousands of years. I'm no evolution scientist so this is just my very simplistic interpretation.

I've been reflecting on the concept of ahimsa ("nonviolence" - one of the yamas in yogic philosophy) lately, in part due to the Catholic tradition of the Lenten season - the 40 days leading up to Easter. Thinking about how nonviolence plays out in my life, or how I can practice it more. Not just in relation to the recent temporary change in my diet and all that accompanies that decision as it weighs somewhat heavily on me now - but also in terms of nonviolence in thought, word, and deed toward myself and others.


I've played and replayed this video 3 times, and different concepts seem to pop out each time.  Astounding fact indeed. More for me to ponder on...

Cuban black beans and rice

There's nothing like a slow-cooked meal of beans and rice. That really does it for me. One of my go-to dishes is Cuban black beans and rice. It's so easy to throw all the ingredients into a pot and then just let it simmer for a few hours until you get this deep, complex flavor. The result will be a delicious combination of flavors: slightly sweet, smoky, spicy (not hot-spicy but fragrant/herby-spicy), earthy, with just a hint of tartness to balance everything out.

I almost always start with dried beans - they are much cheaper and lower in sodium. With a little planning, it's easy enough to let the beans soak in water overnight, and then either pressure cook the next day or just use directly in a stew and let it cook that way. I occasionally have a can or two of cooked beans (plain, just packed in water and salt), which I sometimes use for those hurried evenings in which I did not have anything planned for dinner; I just always drain and rinse them in cold water before I add to a dish. But more often than not I buy dried beans, also to avoid the BPA that is in the lining of cans. However, this brand makes BPA-free cans - but they are about twice the price of regular canned beans though (all the more reason to buy dried!).

I've made this recipe both ways - in a Dutch oven, and in a slow-cooker in the morning, for those days when I work outside of home. Both turned out well.

Cuban Black Beans (recipe thanks to Penzeys)

• 1 lb dried black beans (about 2 cups)
• water
• olive oil
• 1 large white or yellow onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 cup red wine (preferably Cabernet Sauvignon) --> this is is important here!
• 1 dried bay leaf (whole)
• 1 tablespoon Mexican oregano*
• 1 tablespoon epazote*
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Rinse the beans and soak in enough water to cover by about an inch. Discard any beans that float to the top. Let soak overnight.

When ready to cook, drain and rinse the beans. Place the beans in a heavy-bottomed pot (I love my Le Creuset** 5-quart Dutch oven for this) with enough water to cover by about an inch. Alternatively, you can use a slow cooker as well. Add the rest of the ingredients except for the vinegar - the acid in the vinegar slows down the cooking, so you'll want to add it when the beans are tender.

Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer, and cover. Let cook for 45 minutes to an hour (if cooking on stovetop) until the beans are soft. Check the pot every now and then to ensure it isn't getting dry. When I use the slow-cooker, the beans are cooked when I get home in the late afternoon or evening. The cooking time will also vary depending on how fresh the beans are.

Add the red wine vinegar, then allow it to simmer with the cover off to reduce and thicken the liquid.

I also like to mash some of the beans against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon - this helps also especially if you want to thicken the stew and are too hungry to wait any longer for the liquid to reduce (which tends to happen to me :)) You'll want to leave most of the beans whole though, so I never use my immersion blender for this one.

Serve the beans with some Spanish rice. If you want even more fixings, fry up some plantains to serve on the side, or some diced avocados, or a dollop of sour cream of Greek yogurt. Or all of these together. Tonight we had none of those, so we kept things simple. And that's the beauty of this dish - it's certainly good enough to stand on its own.

This recipe makes a LOT of beans for just two people, but it's even better the next day. I also like freezing the rest of it in small airtight containers to enjoy later. 

Spanish Rice

1 cup long grain rice
1 3/4 cup water
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon of Spanish smoked sweet paprika
a quarter of an onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
half of a green bell pepper, diced small
half of a red bell pepper, diced small
1 carrot, diced small
a pinch of kosher salt

Bring the water to a boil. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir. Let it come up to a boil again, then cover and reduce the heat to low. Let it cook undisturbed until the water is absorbed. Take it off the heat and let it stand for about 10 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork to separate the grains.

* I used to get my spices at Colonel De in my beloved Findlay Market (one of the most dee-lightful places), when I used to live in Cincinnati. These spices are probably not readily available at regular grocery stores, but you can get them online through Penzeys.

**Le Creuset cookware is on the more expensive side as far as cookware is concerned, but I consider it an investment because it stands the test of time - and I hope my future kids will want to cook as much as I do so I can pass on my collection. What can I say... I'm not into luxury goods, but I get weak in the knees for "luxury" cookware. ;-) But, a regular deep and heavy-bottomed pot (to distribute heat evenly and prevent scorching) will work just fine.

uncertainty resolved

If you know me and have been reading my ramblings for a while, you'll know that I don't do very well with uncertainty.

There is nothing like the feeling of uncertainty that accompanies being "in limbo" in terms of immigration status.

And finally... after an almost "epic" journey of being in the US for 9 years, two rounds of graduate school and one phase of full-time employment in between... I am now officially a permanent resident!!!!

Whew. A. and I. had a very pleasant surprise (to put it mildly) on February 28th, when we checked our case status online:

screenshot of our case status online (receipt number removed)

"Card/Document Production". YEAH!!!!!!!!!

I literally burst into tears. Who knew those three words could be so sweet. I don't mean to be overly dramatic, but this truly has felt like an epic journey of uncertainty. Those of you whom I talk to on a fairly regular basis know the stressful moments (and yes, the tears) that come with not knowing. Every change, every transition, every major decision (e.g., change in jobs, leaving a job for full-time studies, etc) brings about new paperwork, rules, and waiting. I'm not complaining; this has just been our reality. This is the life we chose. And so we deal with it. Life has to go on... and it did. And I'd say I lived my last 9 years of "in limbo" to the fullest - for the most part, at least. Then finally... after all that uncertainty, we have one pretty major resolution.

But we didn't tell anyone except both our parents until we received the actual physical cards. So we had to contain our excitement, not knowing if our cards could take 3 days or 30 to reach us, as the information above indicated. And then last Saturday... I saw two identical express-mail envelopes in the mail, and as I felt the stiff credit-card size object inside, I knew... but A. wasn't home yet, and since I had a good feeling about what was inside those envelopes, I wanted to open it with him. And true enough... we are no longer nonresident legal aliens, but now officially card-carrying permanent residents!!!

At the risk of making this sound like an Oscar award acceptance speech (pretty timely too, isn't it), I am just so thankful for everyone I left behind who supported me and cheered me on, the amazing friends I met along the way whom I now consider family, and everyone who has been with me in this 9-year journey. It has been one wild ride.