Creamy Marrow Bean, Tomato and Tarragon Casserole with Garlicky Croutons + Chocolate and Graham Cracker Tart

This is one of my mom's favorite dishes! It's inspired by a Deborah Madison recipe that she found in Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. I think everyone should own this book! Deborah Madison approaches vegetarian food in the most un-hippie way possible. I don't think any of her dishes could leave a meat eater unsatisfied!

Anyways, back to the recipe. My mom bought some great local heirloom beans called Marrow beans from a stall at the Topanga farmer's market the other day. Madison actually calls for flageolet beans in her recipe, but I think almost any non black/kidney bean would work fine. We soaked the beans overnight and then drained off the liquid and cooked them until tender with some rosemary, thyme, bay leaves, an onion and some of my favorite smoked dried chilis. The beans were so fresh that they barely took any time at all to cook!

Before:


After:

In a separate pot, I sautéed some shallots in olive oil and butter. After a few minutes, I added in about 10 diced roma tomatoes along with some white wine and let that cook for another 5-7 minutes.


I cubed up a loaf of bread and coated it pieces in minced garlic, olive oil and melted butter before toasting them in the oven.

We steamed some green beans until they were just shy of being done and then combined them in a large casserole dish with the drained marrow beans, stewed tomatoes and shallots, about a cup of cream, half a cup of chopped parsley and maybe 2-3 tablespoons of chopped tarragon. I topped the casserole with the croutons and baked it, covered, until it started to bubble around the edges. At this point, I took off the foil and and let the croutons brown a little more. After taking the dish out of the oven, I finished it with some parmesan.



For the salad, I simply mixed up a little apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, salt, pepper, mustard and olive oil and then coated some lettuce leaves with the dressing right before eating.



Chocolate Tart -

I used this gourmet magazine recipe for the chocolate filling but skipped the glaze. For the crust I used regular graham crackers instead of the chocolate ones, used about half as much sugar and added in about a teaspoon of cinnamon. It turned out really well. I served it with a little raspberry compote.

Moosewood Vegetarian Chili

My mom makes this chili a lot and I love it!!!! The bulgur is really genius as a replacement for meat. I've memorized the recipe by now and stick to it for the most part, but I used probably twice the amount of spices, chilis instead of bell peppers, and canned tomatoes instead of fresh ones.

White Bean and Tomato Stew With Toast

I made white bean stew for dinner last night. I've made it a couple of times but this time I added in a few special ingredients that made it even better! The recipe is adapted and inspired from this gourmet magazine recipe that I came across a few months ago.

First thing to do is to let about a cup and a half of dried white beans (navy, cannellini, etc) soak in water over night. About an hour and a half or two hours before you want to eat, bring the beans up to a boil and simmer until thoroughly cooked (this should take anywhere from one to two hours depending on how fresh the beans are).

Next, I sautéed a small onion, 4-5 cloves of garlic, 4 celery stalks and 4 carrots in olive oil. After about five to seven minutes I turned the heat to high and poured in about a cup of red wine. Next I added in about a tablespoon or two of tomato paste, and maybe half a teaspoon each of dried rosemary and fennel seeds. Once the wine cooked off for about two minutes, I poured in a large can of tomatoes and added in about a tablespoon of dried porcini powder and a tablespoon or two of fresh thyme. Let this simmer for 15 minutes, or until the beans are ready, then add the beans right in, salt to taste and let that simmer together for another 15-20 minutes.

Finally, toast up some olive oil and garlic covered stale bread in the oven. Serve topped with parmesan.