white beans – Compassion is the Secret Ingredient

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It’s been said that I’m a bit of a bean fiend but how could anyone not love those wholesome little nuggets of deliciousness?! In fact, I was told to eat even more beans by my nutritionist so hate all you want but I’m gonna be cramming beans in my diet wherever I can! #BeanMeUpScotty

One of my favorite beans to cook with is the white bean but the other day I realized that I’ve only shared one recipe with y’all that features white beans. (I seriously did a recount because I couldn’t believe I had only shared the one.) I knew that I needed to up my white bean game and share not just a recipe with white beans in it but rather a white bean-based recipe so today I’m doing just that.

Now, maybe you’re like, “What the hell is a bean spread?” So before I go any further allow me to explain this for those of you who are a little confused. A bean spread is a super thick and delicious mixture that can be enjoyed by itself, as a side, or smeared on veggies, on a bagel, on a pita, on tiny toasts for a party, on your finger, on the finger of your lover, on a shoe, on a stick… you get the idea. And the “benevolent” part? That’s just a cutesy word taken from one of the ingredients (more on that in a moment) that I chose to add to the title because I can.

So now we know what a bean spread is, let’s talk about what it tastes like. My bean spread is so full flavored it’ll knock your socks off! It’s garlicky, it’s oniony -wait, oniony is not a word but garlicky is? Lame! Anyways… full flavored. There’s a creaminess that you get from the beans and a little vegan “cream cheese,” then you have a meaty, salty element thanks to Sweet Earth Benevolent Bacon, and the whole thing’s rounded out with some baby spinach. It’s really good and it all gets started with a little prep.

First things first, drain and rinse a can of great northern white beans then plop them into a mini food processor. Add in the vegan “cream cheese,” some salt and pepper, a little extra virgin olive oil, then pulse the mixture until smooth. Set your white bean creaminess aside for a moment and move on the the rest of the prep.

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Wash up some baby spinach (or buy the prewashed stuff) then remove excess stems and tear remaining leafy bit into smaller pieces until you have 2 cups worth of torn baby spinach leaves. Also, finely dice about 1/8th of a white onion, finely mince a few garlic cloves, and slice up about 5 slices of the “bacon” to get them down to more bite-size pieces.

Now it’s time to get cookin’! In a medium size skillet over low-med. heat, cook the “bacon” and the onions in about a tablespoon of olive oil for 5 minutes stirring occasionally to ensure that the “bacon” is cooking up evenly.

After 5 minutes, add in the torn spinach leaves and the garlic. Stirring occasionally, just as you did before, cook for an additional 5 minutes.

The last thing that we need to add is the white bean mixture we made earlier. Pour that into your pan then fold everything together and cook for a final 3 minutes. Be sure to stir nearly constantly at this point so that the beans don’t burn to the bottom of the pan.

Serve your finished bean spread hot or cold -it’s great either way!

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Vegan Benevolent Bean Spread

Servings: makes about 1 1/2 cups
Time: 20 minutes
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Credit: Compassion is the Secret Ingredient, http://www.citsiblog.com

Ingredients

1 (15-ounce) can of low-sodium great northern white beans, drained and rinsed + 1 generous tablespoon vegan “cream cheese” + 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil + pinch of salt and pinch of black pepper
2 cups of baby spinach leaves, torn into bite-size pieces (measured after being torn, not before)
5 pieces of Sweet Earth Benevolent Bacon, uncooked and chopped into bite-size pieces
1/6-1/8 of a white onion (about 2 tablespoons), finely diced
3-4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Something to smear bean spread onto like a bagel, pita, veggies, mini toasts, etc. (optional)

Directions

In a mini food processor, combine drained and rinsed beans with “cream cheese,” extra virgin olive oil, salt, and black pepper. Pulse until smooth then set aside. Tear up baby spinach leaves and prep “bacon,” onion, and garlic, if you haven’t done so already.
In a medium size skillet over low-med. heat, cook “bacon” and onions in 1 tablespoon of olive oil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. After 5 minutes, add torn spinach leaves and garlic then cook for an additional 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add in bean mixture then fold everything together and cook for a final 3 minutes. Be sure to stir almost constantly at this point so that the bean mixture doesn’t burn to the bottom of the pan. When spread is done, serve it hot or cold. Spread will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.

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Long before I ever went vegan, I tried this little hipster joint downtown that just so happened to have some vegan offerings. One of these offerings was a kale salad with mandarin oranges and some other things in it. I chose to get that salad because I love oranges -I didn’t care that it was vegan and frankly I didn’t even notice until it was pointed out to me. This was my first experience with kale (I was in my early 20s) and let me tell you, it was not a good one. I hated that salad. I ate about 4 bites before I put the lid back on it and set it aside. Whether it was my palette or their flavor combinations, I’m not entirely sure, but it just wasn’t that good at all. In the end I decided to lay blame on the kale.

Kale and I didn’t speak for a couple of years after that and then, in my journey to be healthier, I decided give the green stuff another chance. I began juicing it and, when I didn’t want to drag out my heavy juicer, I began to toss it into my smoothies. And you know what? I actually started to enjoy it. Gasp! Fast forward to today, to me wearing a gray t-shirt that reads KALE across the chest in block lettering, and you might say I’ve come a long way. Nowadays I squeeze kale in wherever I can and that includes soup.

This soup, with potatoes, white beans, corn, and yes, kale, is seriously my favorite soup.

Like, ever.

(And to think that I never would have come up with it had I not given kale a second chance!)

Why is is so damn good? Because it’s comfort in a bowl. It’s like a hug for your stomach -yes, it’s really that good. The broth is so savory and warm thanks in part to paprika, cumin, and a little hot sauce. The potatoes are soft, the kale is perfectly wilted, and there’s some corn kernels in there for a just a bit more texture and a tad of sweetness. But don’t take my word for it, try all of this hearty goodness for yourself! And please, don’t quit on kale. Kale loves you. (And you’ll love it in this soup!)

The first step to making this soup is to prep half of a yellow onion. When it’s all cut up and ready for use you’ll then put it and some oil into a dutch oven or other large, cover-able pot, and cook on low-med. heat until the onion is just starting to brown and get soft.

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While the onion is browning up and softening in the pot, you’ll want to prep the potatoes. You’ll need about 4 cups worth of cubed potatoes for this recipe -that’s 4-5 average size russets.

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Once the onion is perfect you can go ahead and toss in the cubed potatoes, the broth, and the almond milk, and bring the mixture to a boil.

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After 5 minutes of boiling, reduce the heat and add in the beans, garlic, seasonings, butter, hot sauce, and sugar.

Stir it all together then cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

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To keep yourself busy during the 20 minutes (since I know you’ll be eagerly pacing back and forth in your kitchen in anticipation of yummy soup) you can prep the kale. Now, I like to buy the triple-washed, ready-to-use stuff personally. So my prep is dumping it out of the plastic bag or tub and removing any stray stems or bad bits that might be in there. But if you’re into doing things the long way you can get yourself some unwashed kale, in all its big leafy glory, wash it, remove the stems and bad bits, and then tear it into bite-size pieces. Whatever floats your kale boat, darling.

(And can we all just take a minute to appreciate how freakin’ beautiful the kale pictured below is?! It tasted as good as it looked, too!)

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After you’ve successfully waited 20 minutes, you can add the frozen corn kernels and the kale to the soup. But I’m sorry to tell you that it’s not time to eat just yet. Cover again and cook for a final 15 minutes.

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When the soup is done, I think it’s best served up with some crusty bread. Or better yet, in a bread bowl… with a side of crusty bread. (You can never have too much bread when it comes to soup, in my opinion!)

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Vegan Potato, Kale, & White Bean Soup

Servings: about 5-6
Time: 60 minutes
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Credit: Compassion is the Secret Ingredient, http://www.citsiblog.com

Ingredients

1/2 of a small yellow onion
2 tablespoons oil
About 4 cups of russet potatoes (about 4-5 average size potatoes)
3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
2 cups unsweetened almond milk
2 (15-ounce) cans of low-sodium white beans (preferably Cannellini or Great Northern), drained and rinsed thoroughly
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon vegan butter
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon sugar
2-3 dashes of hot sauce
3-4 cups fresh kale
1 cup frozen corn kernels

Directions

Begin by finely dicing 1/2 of a yellow onion. In a dutch oven, or other large, cover-able pot, add oil and bring to low-med. heat. Once oil is heated up, add in onion and cook until softened slightly and just beginning to brown, about 3-5 minutes. While onion is cooking prep the potatoes by washing them, peeling them, and then cutting them into 1/2 inch-3/4 inch cubes.
After the onion is softened and browned slightly, add in the potatoes, vegetable broth, and almond milk, and bring to boil. Once boiling, continue to boil for 5 minutes uncovered.
Reduce the heat and add in the drained and rinsed beans, garlic, salt, vegan butter, paprika, black pepper, cumin, sugar, and hot sauce. Stir to combine. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. While the soup continues to cook, prep the kale (if needed) by washing it, removing the stems and bad bits, and tearing it into bite-size pieces.
After 20 minutes, remove the lid and add in the kale and corn kernels. Stir to combine then cover again and continue to simmer for 15 additional minutes to wilt the kale and heat the corn kernels. When done, serve in a bowl with crusty bread of your choice or in a bread bowl. To store leftovers, let the soup cool completely then transfer to an airtight container. Will keep fresh in the fridge for 3-4 days.