Beans Marbella

From the notes in her Veggie newsletter, which would have been helpful to include in the recipe: "I’d like to think of the salad component on top, dressed with vinegar-soaked shallots and capers, as completely flexible — one day it could be radicchio and roasted mushrooms instead of potatoes, and another it could be sliced radishes and snap peas, salad leaves, roasted baby artichokes, or a bunch of torn herbs."

When adding additional water to the cooking beans, use boiling water so it doesn’t slow down the cooking process.

Adding unheated water can also cause the beans to break open and fall apart.

I used dried apricots as they were on hand. A real crowd pleaser !

Excluding fat from a diet is not good for you - your body needs fat to support many biological processes in your body, most notably brain function. Olive oil is a healthy fat (monosaturated) and you shouldn't be afraid to use some. Like any ingredient, you can use it according to your taste. But please don't follow the misguided diets from the 70's and 80's that urged fat to be eliminated from people's diets.

Do not add salt to the beans until they have begun to get soft. Salt at the beginning will cause them to stay hard.

Variation. Prunes, which add a needed sweetness here, are not to everyone’s taste. If that’s you, substitute another dried fruit. An equivalent weight of white raisins (sultanas), dried apricots or dried figs are all appropriate Mediterranean choices.

I'm not aware of any diseases or conditions that mandate complete exclusion of all fat from a person's diet - if there are, please let me know. Obviously, excessive fat consumption, particularly trans-fats, is unhealthy, particularly in overweight people. But the obesity epidemic in America is more due to excess consumption of sugar than to excess consumption of fat. Fat is, in fact, an essential nutrient for your body and is used in brain function and many other processes.

I would add that I often make "seitan marbella" using exactly the same recipe as the original Silver Spoon recipe, except that I substitute home-made seitan for the chicken (you could use store-bought) and I do not broil because that will toughen the proteins in the seitan. The dish benefits from marinating just as does the original, and in some ways is easier without the broiling step: you just wack it in a Dutch oven on your cooktop until it is warm and the sauces have reduced.

Made this 3 cans of canellini beans. Used veg broth for the liquid.

I realize that this defeats the vegetarian aspect, but I think they’d be great with some soppressata or other spicy Italian salami together with the olives and prunes.

Delicious! I added more prunes than the recipe called for and I'd do that again (3/4 cup?). Though the potatoes were good, they didn't seem to compliment the dish, other than to give an additional flavor profile to the meal? That said, my older son liked them so I'd make them again. I made garlic bread to go with this, and that was delicious, but I think rice would go better with this.

I am sorry to see the snark in comments like "not everyone is terrified of consuming lipids". Many people have congenital or acquired health conditions that require them to reduce or eliminate lipids. Creative cooking can overcome flavor and texture limitations. Everyone would likely benefit from cutting down on fat, so there should be options to do so when we choose.

You definitely need oil in a vegetarian dish like this to give it some body and flavor. But I agree, the amount of oil can probably be cut back. Maybe even by half. Taste as you go along. You can always add more.

Loved this! Beans were yummy with all the flavoring added before I even started the wine part of the recipe. I might try reducing final 1/4 C of olive oil. Not sure I needed all that much oil. Sure was good as written though!