Recipe: White or Yellow Beans in Balsamic Vinegar Sauce

Even with grocery prices shooting up, dry beans and other legumes are still relatively inexpensive. Indian cooking does wonders to create varieties of dishes out of lentils and split peas (and other beans, too). Kidney beans, black beans, and pinto beans seem to be more the domain of Latin America with chilis, refried beans, and such. Then there are different types of legume soups. Although all these are good, I wanted to try something different.

A few weeks ago I purchased a bottle of balsamic vinegar. I can't recall now what it was for, but I was struck by how good it is -- I could almost drink it straight... Anyway the idea that came to me this past Friday was a bean dish seasoned with the balsamic vinegar. Balsamic vinegar often is paired with olive oil, and that immediately brings to mind Italian seasoning: garlic, sweet basil, and oregano.

With the basic idea in mind, it was a matter of coming up with the right combination. I had about a handful of dry navy beans, so I decided to use that for my initial experiment. I proceeded with a quick soak.

While the beans were soaking I sauteed the garlic in some Canola oil, added some diced yellow bell peppers, a bit of white wine, then some chopped green onions, salt, pepper, basil, and oregano. To finish off the sauce I added the balsamic vinegar and some extra-virgin olive oil.

After soaking I cooked the beans until they were al dente, then combined the drained beans with the sauce. The result was quite good. I refrigerated the left overs and had them sometime later. I was somewhat disappointed with it. The beans were now quite dry and tough. I would have to try this again with the beans fully cooked.

I had a bag of mayocoba beans so that was my next target. I let is soak and then fully cooked it. This evening I put together the sauce and added the drained beans to it. The softer beans and the remaining liquid, combined with the cooked sauce made the results much more saucy and pleasant. I think it is a little bit reminiscent of a bean salad, though much more mild and buttery in texture.

Elise, who does not like bean salad, says this dish is good. Shelley had multiple helpings. I really like the "bite" that the vinegar contributes to the dish. I could see adding some red pepper flakes to give it an extra pungency and bite.

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White or Yellow Beans in Balsamic Vinegar Sauce

Serves: About 6 as a side dish

Prep and Cooking time (excluding soak and cook of beans): 15-20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cups dry beans - white (e.g., navy) or yellow (mayocoba) - though I think other types would work just as well (canned beans can also work, too)
• 1 tsp. salt for the beans
• 1 tbsp. Canola or vegetable oil
• 3 medium cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 to 2 red, yellow, and/or orange bell peppers, 1/4-inch dice
• 2 tbsp. white wine or water
• 1 tsp. soy sauce
• 1 tsp. dry basil leaves
• 1/2 tsp. dry oregano leaves
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
• 2 stalks green onions, chopped
• 2 tbsp. good-quality balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp. good-tasting extra-virgin olive oil
• More kosher salt and black pepper to taste
• 4 to 5 fresh basil leaves, cut into chiffonade (optional)

Directions

1. Soak and cook beans according to package directions. Near the end of cooking, salt the beans. Set aside. (Do not drain at this time.)
2. In a large (12") frying pan over medium-high heat, heat the Canola oil. When hot, add the garlic and quickly saute for 5-10 seconds. Immediately add the peppers and continue to saute for another 1-2 minutes until the peppers start to soften. Add the wine or water and the soy sauce. Add the seasonings (basil, oregano, salt, pepper). Continue to fry until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add green onions and fry for another minute.
3. Remove from heat and add vinegar and olive oil. Stir to mix.
4. If beans are no longer hot, place beans in microwave safe container and reheat. Drain beans, reserving 1/2 cup of cooking water. Add beans to sauce. Mix well. If the beans seem too dry, add a little of the reserved water and mix until there is some thick sauce at the bottom of the pan. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste. Mix in the fresh basil leaves, if using.