what would you do with cannellini beans

[Aimee]

I bought some beautiful dried cannellini beans from Rancho Gordo. They are huge and look great. I usually make mexican style beans so I'm at a bit of a loss about what to do with these. Any thoughts?

Aimee

[Nuray]

I make a Turkish dish with them... First I saute half medium sized chopped onions with just a little vegetable oil until they get golden colour; and I add three medium diced tomatoes, salt, cracked red pepper and let them cook for a few minutes. Then I add the cannellini and sliced carrots and put chicken stock and cook until they are soft but nut mushy. You may also add beef or chicken to this recipe, substituting the chicken stock if you are adding beef. You may also cook this recipe with chickpeas... Very versatile...

[pamd]

I make a tasty tilapia dish using them (LMK if interested)
Also, Giada's cannellini bean dip is great.

[Kagey]

There is a recipe for a white bean and chorizo soup in the Daily Soup cookbook that is to die for. I don't have the book with me, but if you want me to paraphrase, let me know and I'll have a look this evening.

[Val]

Kagey, not sure about original poster, but I would be interested, please.

[Kagey]

Sure. Here it is, roughly:

1. Poach a pound of chorizo (in sausage form) in 6 cups of water for about 10 minutes. Drain, reserving about 1/3 of the liquid. Slice the chorizo when cool enough to touch. Set aside.

2. In a stockpot, saute 1/4 lb of bacon (cut into cubes; I use already cubed, store-bought pancetta) in some olive oil till golden brown and fat rendered. Add a large chopped onion, 3 chopped carrots, 2 finely chopped garlic cloves, saute till tender.

3. Add some thyme, paprika, pepper, and two bay leaves. Stir. Then add a pound of white beans, two cubed potatoes, the poaching liquid from the chorizo, and 6 or 7 cups of vegetable stock or water (I have used watered-down bouillon for this). Bring to boil, turn down to simmer, cook 1 to 2 hours, till the beans are done.

4. Add sliced chorizo, heat through. Add a bunch of chopped radish leaves or other greens (I've used rucola and spinach). Add 1/4 cup of dry vermouth and a minced garlic clove. Taste for seasoning, add salt if necessary. Serve topped with chopped scallions.

The only other thing I'd add is go easy on the salt at the beginning, since the chorizo will be salty.

The potato should turn out a little mushy; I usually end up smashing a few of the cubes to make the soup very thick.

This recipe is very forgiving; feel free to adjust the amounts as you like

[shindiganna]

Grandma's Pasta Fazioli

1. saute an onion in a bit of olive oil and a pinch of salt until softened
2. add oregano and basil, fresh or dry, to taste
3. add cooked beans with liquid (canned are fine, just watch the salt) and a bit of wine if you like
4. add a spoonful of tomato (leftover sauce, some paste, canned or fresh) and simmer a few minutes to blend flavors
5. optional: add a few handfuls of julienned greens (outer leaves of romaine, spinach, beet, kale whatever you have and is in season)
6. cook some ditalini until al dente, then add to the pot of beans and simmer a minute.
serve with grated locatelli romano

[Infomaniac]

Looks good...I'm going to give it a try. Thanks.

A lot of good ideas here.

[ashwood]

wow.. rinse them until dry.... i'm smart.....

[sgb]

I like to serve cannellini beans that have been cooked with olive oil, garlic and a little chopped fresh tomato with sauteed spinach and lamb chops.

[ashwood]

rinse them until dry, cook them low and slow with a whole head of garlic, chx stock, sage, when done, squeeze garlic and add a can of tomatoes that have been cooked briefly to evaporate extra liquid, dress with a bit of EVOO to finish.

[Das Ubergeek]

Beans respond really well to being "Greeked" -- I cook them until very nearly done, then pour out the water, add a bit of chicken stock, lemon juice, garlic, fresh oregano, salt and pepper.

[davinagr]

I made a chopped salad recently with Cannellini beans that was quite good. Used a can of chopped tomatoes, red leaf lettuce, red onion, grilled chopped chicken, topped with feta w/herbs and a light vinaigrette. Was filling and delicious.

[Hungry Celeste]

Cannellini beans make a great white turkey or chicken chili (w/green chiles).

[Divamac]

throw canned cannellini beans in a food processor with fresh rosemary, garlic and olive oil - tuscan hummus!

I also love them with sauteed with italian sausage and either escarole or spinach, garlic and red pepper flakes, s&p served with linguini.

[maviris]

One of my favorite quick comfort dishes is beans and greens with pasta. Usually I use kale, cannelini and macaroni. Since it is wonderful with rinsed canned beans, I can only imagine how nice it would be with your lovely Rancho Gordo beans.

I carmelize onion in olive oil, add red pepper flakes then add a bunch of washed and cut kale and cook it down to wilting, adding salt and pepper and a bit of pasta or bean cooking liquid to give it a little body and sauciness. I add a minced garlic clove or two, the beans (more liquid if desired) and heat through to allow the flavors to meld. Finally I add the pasta and serve with freshly shaved parmesan. A heartier variation is to include some pancetta with the onion.

[deanna_kay]

This soup is delicious! I have made it several times and just love it.

Rosemary White Bean Soup

Recipe By :Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa
Serving Size : 8 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Soups & Stews

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 pound dried cannellini beans -- or 5 cans cannellini or great northern beans
4 cups sliced yellow onions
1/4 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic -- minced
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 bay leaf
2 quarts chicken stock
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground pepper

Cover beans with water by at least 1 inch and leave them in the refrigerator for 6 hours or overnight.

In a large stockpot over low to medium heat, saute the onions with the olive oil until the onions are translucent, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the garlic and cook over low heat for 3 more minutes. Add the drained white beans, rosemary, chicken stock and bay leaf. Cover, bring to a boil and simmer for 40 minutes, until the beans are very soft.

Remove the bay leaf and puree the soup in the food processor (or with a hand blender) until coarsely pureed. Return the soup to the pot to reheat and add salt and pepper to taste.

Note: I used all canned beans; pureed the soup with 3 cans then added 2 additional cans without pureeing. Adjust simmer time to about 15 minutes or so, just long enough for the flavors to meld.

[Chocolatechipkt]

I make a thick version of this and top it with sauteed sea scallops (shrimp would work well too.)

[halimundy]

We like this very easy and lowfat recipe. We sometimes add a little spice to it, but not always.

Shrimp with Beans and Rosemary

1 1⁄2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary or sage
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 cups cooked cannelloni beans (about 2 cans)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1⁄2 cup fish broth, chicken broth, or clam broth

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet. Add the garlic, 2 tablespoons of the parsley, and the rosemary and cook over medium heat until fragrant but not brown, about 1 minute. Stir in the shrimp, beans, salt, and pepper and cook for 1 minute. Add the fish broth and simmer until the shrimp are firm, pink, and cooked, 2 to 3 minutes more. Correct the seasoning, adding salt and pepper to taste.
2. Drizzle the remaining 1⁄2 tablespoon olive oil over the shrimp and beans, sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon parsley, and serve at once.

Great with the addition of cherry tomatoes, cut in half.

[melly]

I mix the beans with quality canned whole tomatoes (which I crush with my hands), add some fresh torn basil, salt and pepper and pour over hot pasta...finish with good parm cheese.

[coll]

Really good with broccoli rabe and sausage.

[OnceUponABite]

I think simmer them with ham hocks, basically treating them like other kinds of beans would be nice.

I also like to use canned cannellini beans to make easy super fast bean dip. A few cloves of garlic, a squeeze of lemon, some parsley and the beans in the food processor makes for a cheap quick dip.

[Hapa Dude]

I made something similar recently. I put in both lemon and white wine vinegar and I mashed them, and I put the resulting mash/puree on some bruscetta w/ some proscuitto. Sprinkle some minced red onion and parsley on top and you've got a tasty appetizer!

[Val]

I SO agree with fauchon and rootless...tuna is great with cannellini...but for a different twist, you might want to consider cheese tortellini soup with kielbasa, kale and cannellini...we've had this twice to raves from all, link below, and I always use low-fat kielbasa (oh, jeez, alright!)

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/rec...

[rootlesscosmo]

Even better if you use Italian canned tuna (tonno sott'olio) like As do Mar.

[fauchon]

Cannellini beans + tuna make a classic & wonderful salad. Just mix with EVOO, lemon juice, herb of your choice, a bit of garlic, place on a bed of rugola and enjoy...this is infinitely expandable...just round up the usual suspects: celery, radishes, cucumbers, olives etc.

[Betty]

Cannellini beans + Italian tuna, (which I have to bring back from out of town, can't get ANY tuna in Olive Oil here)Red Onions and capers and EVOO is our new favorite thing. But, I can't get Cannellini beans here either, so well-rinsed great northerns work ok too!