Start the New Year with a Pot of Beans

Have you had enough turkey for a while? Did you eat your weight in Christmas cookies over the holidays?  If it’s time to rethink your daily fare, think legumes! Yes, those beans, peas, lentils and soybeans can be a nutritious and delicious path back to reality. 

It’s a fact that certain foods — legumes, soy and nuts among them — “provide more nutritional bang for their caloric buck,” says nutrition expert Dana Jacobi. She and other health authorities, including author Michael Pollan, note that eating legumes helps lower cholesterol and LDL levels, moderate insulin resistance and possibly help reduce cancer risk. The Mayo Clinic tells us they’re typically “low in fat, contain no cholesterol and are high in folate, potassium, iron and magnesium.” 

Legumes have provided sustenance as early as Biblical times. We’re told it was a pot of red lentils that Esau craved so much that he was willing to give up his birthright to his brother Jacob. Ancient cultures depended on legumes to provide a large measure of daily protein in their diet, and many continue that tradition today. 

Beans alone (except for soy) are an incomplete form of protein and must be complemented with a grain, such as bread or rice, and a dairy product, such as yogurt or cheese. Beans and rice are one example; falafel made of chick peas, then tucked into pita bread and topped with a yogurt-based sauce, is another.

Legumes, also called pulses, are a staple in most of the world and especially throughout India, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and the Americas as well. We enjoy pinto and black beans in Mexican food, edamame beans (green soybeans) at the local sushi bar, lentil soup at Indian and Turkish restaurants, tofu and soy milk, hummus (from chickpeas), lima beans in succotash, black-eyed peas (especially at New Year’s) and soups, salads, stews, curries too numerous to mention.  

And legumes are a blessing for the home cook. They’re easily stored in the cupboard, where they last for ages but are ready to prepare at a moment’s notice. What’s more, they’re inexpensive and easy to cook.

Most beans require overnight soaking, but it’s a simple enough procedure, assuming you have the time. You can also do a a quick soak by bringing about 10 cups of water to a boil, adding a pound of beans and returning them to a boil. Remove the pot from the heat, cover and set aside for 2 to 4 hours. Lentils, split peas and black-eyed peas have already been soaked and re-dried, so they can be rinsed and cooked immediately. Simmer all beans or peas gently, uncovered, and keep an eye on the pot to make sure there’s enough water to keep them immersed. 

Legumes contain a lot of fiber, which is part of why they’re so good for you, but they can lead to intestinal gas. Changing the soaking water a few times and discarding the soaking water that contains much of the gas-producing sugars can help reduce the “gas” factor, as can products such as Beano.

Chefs understand the culinary possibilities and versatility of legumes, and they incorporate them into a never-ending array of spectacular dishes. 

Owner of Drew’s American Grill, Drew Glick, and his executive chef, Jeremy Gibboney, approach the concept deliciously, with their Lamb Lollipops with Lentil Chili and Arugula Pesto, an appetizer that reads more like a meal in and of itself. The Lentil Chili and Arugula Pesto can be made up ahead, so the only last-minute work is sautéing the lamb chops. 

Drew’s American Grill’s Lamb: 

Lollipops with Lentil Chili and Arugula Pesto and Frisée

Lentil Chili

1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 tablespoon chili powder

1/4 tablespoon paprika

1/8 teaspoon cayenne

3/4 cup French green “du Puy” lentils, rinsed

3 1/2 cups tomato juice

1/2 cup tomato purée

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, 

to taste

Heat the oil over medium heat, add the onion and garlic and “sweat” them, stirring frequently, until vegetables are translucent, about 6 to 7 minutes. Add the chili powder, paprika, cayenne and cook, stirring, for a minute or two. Add the lentils, tomato juice and tomato purée, and cook until lentils are tender. Remove from heat and add the cilantro, parsley, salt and pepper. 

ARUGULA PESTO:

4 cups (packed) arugula, washed 

and dried

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

1 cup pure olive oil 

1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

2 tablespoons pine nuts

Salt, to taste

Place arugula and garlic in the bowl of a food processor or blender. Pulse to purée. Slowly add the oil with the motor running, then add the Parmigiano, pine nuts and salt to taste; purée to a smooth paste. Refrigerate, covered, until needed. 

LAMB LOLLIPOPS:

1 8-bone Frenched rack of lamb, cut into 8 lamb chops or “lollipops” 

MARINADE:

1/2 cup olive oil

2-3 cloves garlic, mashed

2 sprigs parsley

Sprig of rosemary

Few sprigs of fresh thyme

Olive oil, to sauté the chops

Salt and pepper, to taste

GARNISH: Frisée

Marinate the chops for an hour or two. Heat a sauté pan, add a tablespoon or two of oil and sear chops on both sides. Season with salt and pepper. 

To serve, spoon lentil chili on a small plate, set one chop over the chili, add a dollop of (room temperature) arugula pesto and frisée.

At both locations of Green Vegetarian Cuisine, co-owners Mike and Chris Behrend offer 100-percent vegetarian and kosher food, so it’s no surprise that legumes appear on the menu in many guises. One of their most popular dishes is the Middle Eastern Falafel, served with vegan tzatziki, purple onions, spinach and tomatoes, wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla. A truly tasty and immensely satisfying dish, it’s surprisingly easy to make at home. 

Green Restaurant’s Falafel Burrito:

falafel

1/4 cup olive oil

2 cups dry chickpeas

6 cups water

4 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons kosher salt

1 tablespoon cumin

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 cup fresh cilantro

1 cup fresh parsley

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup panko (Japanese-style) bread crumbs

For serving:

Vegan tzatziki 

Purple onions, sliced 

Spinach leaves 

Sliced tomatoes 

Whole wheat tortillas

Canola oil for deep frying, if frying is preferred over baking

In a medium saucepan, bring the olive oil, chickpeas, water, garlic, salt, cumin and chili powder to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 1 hour. Add the cilantro and parsley and blend this mixture either with an immersion blender or processor, until the mixture has the consistency of chunky peanut butter. Fold in the flour and bread crumbs and combine well.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Using a 4-ounce ice cream scoop or a 1/2-cup measuring cup, scoop the mixture, form mixture into balls, then place onto an oiled sheet pan. Bake for 20 minutes, or until firm.

(You can also deep fry them in hot oil (350°F.) Makes about 6 generous servings. 

At Lüke on the River Walk, executive chef Steven McHugh prepares this famous New Orleans dish of Red Beans and Rice, using the recipe developed by his mentor, chef John Besh. (It appears in Besh’s book, My New Orleans —*see note.) Dried red kidney beans are slowly cooked in a flavorful mix of vegetables, spices and ham hocks until tender and creamy, then served with green onions, Tabasco and rice. It’s a meal in a bowl that will amaze — and sustain — you.

Lüke’s Red Beans and Rice:

2 onions, diced

1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced

1 stalk celery, diced

2 tablespoons rendered bacon fat

1 pound dried red kidney beans

2 smoked ham hocks

3 bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

3 green onions, chopped

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Tabasco

3 cups cooked rice

Sweat the onions, bell peppers and celery in the rendered bacon fat in a heavy soup pot over medium-high heat. Once the onions become translucent, add the kidney beans, ham hocks, bay leaves and cayenne, then add water to cover by 2 inches. Increase the heat and bring the water to a boil. Cover the pot, reduce the heat to low, and allow the beans to slowly simmer for 2 hours. Periodically stir the beans to make sure that they don’t scorch on the bottom of the pot, adding water if necessary, always keeping the beans covered by an inch or more of water. 

Continue cooking the beans until they are creamy and beginning to fall apart when they’re stirred. Remove the ham hock meat from the bones, roughly chop it, and add it back to the pot of beans. Stir in the green onions and season with salt, black pepper and Tabasco. Serve with white rice. 

*Note - this recipe appears courtesy of chef John Besh and Andrews McMeel Publishing.