Beans with Digitata and Vegetables
  • CourseMain Dish
Servings
8
Cook Time Passive Time
20minutes 3hours, for cooking beans
Servings
8
Cook Time Passive Time
20minutes 3hours, for cooking beans
Ingredients
  • 1cup dry pinto, kidney, or Scarlet Runner beans
  • 1small whole onion
  • 1stalk celery
  • 1small carrot
  • 1large bay leaf
  • 1/2strip of Digitata kelp (6″)
  • 1tbsp olive oil
  • 1large leekcleaned and sliced into rounds
  • 1large cloves garlicsliced
  • 2 carrotssliced into thick rounds
  • 1stalk celerysliced thick
  • 1medium parsnipsliced into thick half-moons
  • 1tsp dried Thymesavory or sage leaves or a combination of all three
  • 2cups kalecut into 2″ strips
  • 1-2tsp sea salt
  • Black pepper to taste
  • 2tbsp parsleyminced for garnish
Instructions
  1. Sort beans into a strainer and rinse several times. Place beans in a large soup pot or cast-iron casserole with lid and add water to about 2 inches above the top of beans. Include with the beans the Digitata, the whole onion, stalk of celery, cut in half, carrot, cut in half, and bay leaf.
  2. Bring beans to a boil briefly. Remove from heat and cover. Let sit for at least 1 hour.
  3. After the beans have soaked, add more water to return the water level to 2 inches above the beans and bring all to a boil. Partially cover the pot and simmer for 2 hours or until a bean can be crushed easily with the back of a spoon. Check pot occasionally for water and add more if needed. If using a pressure cooker, seal lid, bring up to pressure, turn to low heat and cook 40 minutes.
  4. While beans are cooking, prepare vegetables. In a medium frying pan, sauté leeks and garlic in olive oil over low heat for 10 minutes. Stir frequently to avoid browning too much. When leeks are soft, add celery, carrot and parsnip to the pan and toss with leek mixture. Add herbs to the vegetable mixture and set aside until beans are cooked.
  5. When beans are tender, carefully remove and discard the onion, celery, carrot and bay leaf. Stir in the Digitata, which should be very soft and falling to pieces. Drain off all but about an inch of liquid from the beans and set aside. Add the sea salt and pepper to the beans and mix well. Transfer the vegetable mixture to the bean pot and stir in. Add kale and a little of the reserved cooking liquid if needed.
  6. Return the bean mixture to a simmer and cook, covered, for another 15 minutes until the vegetables are tender and the flavors have blended. Taste for salt. Garnish with minced parsley and serve with a salad and brown rice.