I just received a question about the amount of sage in the white bean
recipe. I wasn't specific enough and Frances mailed me back to tell me
that too much sage is toxic so I went back to the book and found that
the recipe called for a handful of fresh sage leaves or 2Tbsp dried.
Here's the corrected recipe.
Thanks Frances
Tuscan White Beans (with sage amount correction)
Modified from "The New Vegetarian Epicure"
by Anna Thomas.
These beans are very versatile. They can be:
frozen
pureed for soup
served warm or room temp. as an appetizer
put on a salad
(arugula + balsamic + beans + black pepper = yummmmm)
added to a pasta dish (maybe with some roasted red pepper?)
used in place of canned white beans in many recipes
Tuscan White Beans
1 lb small white beans, soaked at least 8 hours
water
peeled cloves from a whole head of garlic
handful fresh whole sage leaves or 2 Tbsp dried whole-leaf
sage (save a few fresh leaves for garnish)
I used about 10 large leaves or 2 sprigs
1 piece kombu (I used a piece that was about 5"x5"
when stretched out)
1 or 2 tsp salt
If garlic cloves have any sign of green sprouts, slice in half
and remove the sprout.
Put beans, garlic, sage in pot.
Add water to cover by about an inch.
Bring to a boil.
Add kombu.
Cover pot.
Lower heat to small light
Stir gently only a few times while cooking. If you stir
too much you will end up with mush. Let cook
until beans start to get soft. This could take
a few hours. Add water if it all cooks away.
When beans are a bit soft, add the salt and let cook
till beans are soft but still holding their shape.
All parts are edible but you may want to remove the sage leaves
if you are going to puree the beans for a soup. You can add new
leaves which will look a bit nicer.
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