Sometimes it’s hard to get variety into our diets. I often feel like I forget to cook with beans. I took some inspiration from Fair Mtn. Farm’s (Ketchum Market) pesto sauces though, and created a tasty side dish one night. Start with some of Mike Heath’s (M & M Organics – Ketchum and Hailey Markets) tiny white beans.
Cook up 1 cup of dry beans. Start by soaking them for most of a day, or you can cover them with about an extra inch of water in a saucepan, bring to a boil, then turn off the heat and cover the pan for an hour. After soaking or doing the pre-boil, rinse the beans well, put back into your pot and cook for about an hour and a half. Make sure to put a fair amount of water in – as the Moosewood Cookbook states, cooking beans is hardly ever a very specific science. Watch them and start with more water than you think.
When the beans are cooked, and you have drained them, stir in a whole jar of pesto (any kind will do!), some salt and pepper, several Tablespoons of Olive oil, and several Tablespoons of Rice Vinegar. You’ll end up with a side bean dish that could second as a Tapas dish too.
For Pesto sauce ideas, keep the basics in mind: a flavorful green (such as basil, cilantro or even parsley if you like some punch), salt, pepper, olive oil, good hard cheese (I adore exquisite Parmesan). You’ll need a fair amount of Olive oil to get the consistency more liquid-like.
