Red Beans, Almost the Classic Way (FM)

• 1 1/2 cup dried kidney, pinto, or other red beans, rinsed, picked over, and soaked if you like
• 1 meaty smoked ham hock or ham  bone or 4-ounce chunk of bacon or pancetta
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 andouille or hot Italian sausage in casings [andouille]
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 green and 1 red bell pepper, chopped [I think my green bell pepper was too far gone to make it in this recipe so I skipped it.]
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 or 3 sprigs fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• Pinch of cayenne
• 1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes (canned are fine; include their juice)
• 2 large sweet potatoes, cubed
•  Salt and black pepper
• Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish [nope]
• Hot sauce, optional

Ah, one my last uses of my home-cured, home-smoked almost bacon.  I'm humble enough to admit my failures.

I threw the bacon and beans before I completed any of the other prep.  Since I guess these beans cooked super quickly (I also wasn't around to pull it off the boil immediately), they were overdone at the end.  Oh well.

 

Mise en place at this stage.  I figured I'd have time enough to prep the sweet potatoes during the next few steps.

Browning the sausage.

Cook onions, bell pepper and garlic until the peppers have softened.

Slice sausage and add back in to pot along with everything but the sweet potatoes.  Cook until beans begin to get tender.

That or until I realize they're totally blown out by the time the sweet potato cooks through.


The dish was fine but had a lot of pitfalls similar to many of my experiences with Food Matters.  I mean I'm not always disappointed by the overly healthful recipes, but sometimes it's pretty hard for me to eat too much of them.  I did wind up throwing a bit of this out.

Tahini Soup with Spinach and Lamb (FM)

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 8 ounces boneless lamb shoulder, cut into chunks
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon tumeric
• 1/2 teasoon cinnamon
• Salt and black pepper
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 4 cups vegetable, chicken, or beef stock or water
• 1/2 cup tahini
• 2 cups chopped tomatoes (canned are fine; include their juice)
• 2 pounds spinach, roughly chopped

Mise en place.

Browning the spice encrusted lamb.

Add the vegetables and cook until lightly browned.

Add stock, tahini, and tomatoes.

My friends enjoyed the dish though I still think the meat content is pretty token in these Food Matters recipes.  Certainly a well-spiced, creamy, comforting dish overall.