# March 2014 Challenge - Beans



## jonpaul (Jan 5, 2014)

what an amazing month/challenge february was!a big THANK YOU to lucas for choosing & running a great challenge!i really meant what i said at the end of the challenge...everyone who contributed,posted some amazing dishes & i was totally blown away by the sheer ingenuity,imagination,inventiveness & "restaurant quality" presentation of the food...everyone was a winner!i also read all of the suggestions about this month's challenge but,and i hope no one will be too disappointed because there were some great ideas there,decided on a "level playing field" topic.a "blank canvass" ingredient that just about every continent on the globe has at least one dish that incorporates it,whether you live on the coast or inland.*BEANS*!but not just beans*.......PULSES,LENTILS & LEGUMES....DRIED,FRESH & FROZEN,TOO!*everything from the humble pea to peanut & everything in between....*CURRIES,CASSOULET & HUMMUS*...the list is endless.sooooo,lets "crack on" & to get us in the mood......


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## hayden (Dec 1, 2013)

Oh you're a harsh one, @JonPaul! I'm out of this challenge; I avoid beans and legumes like the plague.

Looking forward to seeing what everyone else brings to the table though!


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## jonpaul (Jan 5, 2014)

Hayden said:


> Oh you're a harsh one, @JonPaul! I'm out of this challenge; I avoid beans and legumes like the plague.
> 
> Looking forward to seeing what everyone else brings to the table though!


nothing like a positive start to the challenge....and that was nothing like a positive start/img/vbsmilies/smilies/lol.gif!!you're kidding me,hayden?!...i really am sorry,mate.i thought that it was an ingredient that everyone had at least one "signature" dish for.apologies!


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## jonpaul (Jan 5, 2014)

*LINKING......HELP!*my name is JonPaul & i'm a total "techno dunce"...do i need to do anything to link this challenge to the previous month's challenges??i've messaged the mods but if anyone reads this first & knows what to do....help!!


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## hayden (Dec 1, 2013)

Oh yeah of course, don't get me wrong - before I started avoiding them they were a biiig part of my diet (was vegetarian for 5 years before I introduced seafood back in to my diet and cut a lot of things out), so I have some personal favourites myself, I just won't be cooking them haha!

I'm looking forward to someone making a vegetarian chilli/nachos dish.


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## jonpaul (Jan 5, 2014)

Hayden said:


> Oh yeah of course, don't get me wrong - before I started avoiding them they were a biiig part of my diet (was vegetarian for 5 years before I introduced seafood back in to my diet and cut a lot of things out), so I have some personal favourites myself, I just won't be cooking them haha!
> 
> I'm looking forward to someone making a vegetarian chilli/nachos dish.


ah hah!bearing in mind the "blazing saddles"clip,you've probably got a few more friends in your social circle since you became "bean free"/img/vbsmilies/smilies/wink.gif/img/vbsmilies/smilies/lol.gif!!


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## jonpaul (Jan 5, 2014)

one of my favourite cuisines is moroccan & one of my favourite cooking techniques/utensils is the tagine.i cooked this dish a while back:ras el hanout lamb tagine with chick peas(garbanzo beans) & home made preserved lemons.





  








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## koukouvagia (Apr 3, 2008)

What a wonderful food, legumes are loved by all or most! My region of Greece is particularly known for their abundant use of legumes and now that Lent is starting tomorrow a huge staple of the next several weeks.

This dish I've been eating since I was a child. Hands down one of my most favorite dishes. When I was young I used to tell my parents that I would serve this dish at my wedding and they all got a good laugh at it because it's such a peasant dish and would tell me that if I served this that everyone would go home lol. Anyway, this is a meal that is close to my heart and always makes me feel like I'm back home. White bean veggie stew. First I soak the beans overnight, then I parboil them in water. I drain and then parboil again in water, this time I strain and reserve the water. In a large dutch oven I sweat onion, carrot, celery, green and red bell peppers in a good amount of olive oil. Add the beans and sautee. Add a can of tomato or fresh tomato (whatever is on hand) and the reserved water. Simmer for about an hour or until the beans are soft. Season and remove from the heat. Add a handful of freshly chopped parsley, and another handful of dill. Add some fennel fronds if you've got them. Serve with crusty bread. Freezes really well and tastes twice as good the next day. Completely vegan.





  








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## jarmo (Jan 11, 2014)

Bacon wrapped chicken with peas...





  








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## koukouvagia (Apr 3, 2008)

This is our typical Monday night meal, which is always a vegetarian day and 9 times out of 10 I'm making this. This is a greek delicacy called Fava. Not to be confused with the englis fava beans, these are actually split yellow peas made into a puree. The island of Santorini is famous for its production of yellow split peas but this dish is eaten in various parts of Greece. It is made by sauteeing a yellow onion with a little olive oil until soft. I add the split peas, a bay leaf and enough water to cover and exceed the peas by an inch. Simmer slowly and check on it often, add water as needed. The peas are not drained, only enough water is needed as will be absorbed. There comes a point where the split peas explode on their own and become a lumpy puree, looking somewhat like polenta. Season and served here with a drizzle of olive oil and raw red onion, which are crunchy and cold. Dandelion greens that have been boiled, strained and drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice.

This can also be a wonderful starchy side to go with lamb chops or other grilled meats. The next day I mix it with herbs and scallions and fry into fritters, dipped into tzatziki.





  








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## jonpaul (Jan 5, 2014)

@koukouvagia....ahh,the greek connection!i forgot.greece & that part of "the med" is famous for it's bean dishes.i have some greek dried "gigante" beans in the cupboard.i feel a "gigantes plaki" coming on!!

great looking dishes by the way,koukou!


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## genemachine (Sep 26, 2012)

Beans it is, very nice - guess I need to start curing some salt pork for proper Boston Baked Beans, then.

@Koukouvagia That bean soup exists all over the mediterranian, I guess - I have friends from Croatia who make a very similar one!


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## jonpaul (Jan 5, 2014)

Jarmo said:


> Bacon wrapped chicken with peas...


impeccable presentation as always,jarmo!


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## jonpaul (Jan 5, 2014)

GeneMachine said:


> Beans it is, very nice - guess I need to start curing some salt pork for proper Boston Baked Beans, then.
> 
> @Koukouvagia That bean soup exists all over the mediterranian, I guess - I have friends from Croatia who make a very similar one!


that's what i was hoping for gm....boston baked beans.i've never made them.seems to be,as with so many other dishes,lots of variations on a theme.interesting to see how many there are!


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## jarmo (Jan 11, 2014)

I am not sure if corn fits in Beans challenge,,,
Corn and "Meat swords"....


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## jonpaul (Jan 5, 2014)

Jarmo said:


> I am not sure if corn fits in Beans challenge,,,
> Corn and "Meat swords"....


apparently it's a vegetable when eaten straight from the plant & it becomes a grain when it is dried.so,i guess the answer is "no",,jarmo.but who cares,it looks great as always & a helluva lot of work went into that dish.thanks for sharing!


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## koukouvagia (Apr 3, 2008)

GeneMachine said:


> @Koukouvagia That bean soup exists all over the mediterranian, I guess - I have friends from Croatia who make a very similar one!


That's not surprising. It's hardly revolutionary. Simple things are unbeatable.


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## jonpaul (Jan 5, 2014)

Koukouvagia said:


> That's not surprising. It's hardly revolutionary. Simple things are unbeatable.


"less is more" to be sure!


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## jonpaul (Jan 5, 2014)

from the sublime to the ridiculous......after a particularly tiring/harrowing shift at my local food bank,the other day,i was too knackered physically & emotionally to cook,but i was starving.only one thing would hit the spot...pie,mash & beans.peroni too.boy,was that good!





  








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## jonpaul (Jan 5, 2014)

y'know what?i didn't realise how well beans go with most things,add another dimension in terms of flavour/texture & how much i use them.cooked this one a while back & the butter beans worked really well with the seafood.mixed seafood cataplana with butter beans in a roasted red pepper/tomato & vinho verde sauce.they also make most dishes into "one pot wonders"......save's on the washing up too!





  








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## everydaygourmet (Apr 4, 2012)

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Inslata Di Fagioli e Tonno

with tuna belly house smoked salmon, cranberry, cannelli beans, capers, chick peas, dash of white balsamic & high quality fish sauce, and 1 white anchovy for the marinade

Cheers!

EDG


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## teamfat (Nov 5, 2007)

GeneMachine said:


> Beans it is, very nice - guess I need to start curing some salt pork for proper Boston Baked Beans


I'll be making some pickle meat for my first entry.

mjb.


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## maryb (Mar 21, 2008)

Sure do this one when I have 4 feet of snow on my deck and can't get the bbq pit out for some classic baked beans.


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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

how about some Tofu? Processed beans, but beans. Press it to remove excess liquid. Deep fried gives tofu an interesting texture, but even a good sear can help toughen up the surface to present some texture. I like to cook tofu in a more western style so it has some time top pick up flavor. Non stick pan, a little oil.





  








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Give it a pan toss and then flip any recalcitrant cubes with your fingers to an adjacent uncooked surface.





  








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Repeat a few times.

When you've got it mostly seared, add some onion.





  








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When that's picked up a little color, add the garlic, ginger, and ground pork. Let it sear a bit, then season with soy sauce and rice wine.





  








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Add spinach, cook it down, season with some oyster sauce. Thicken as needed with a little corn starch slurry.

Enjoy it for lunch with some good reading material.





  








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## ordo (Mar 19, 2009)




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## teamfat (Nov 5, 2007)

Tofu seems like it could have been a theme all its own.  I also noticed our illustrious host mentioned peanuts ...

mjb.


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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

teamfat said:


> Tofu seems like it could have been a theme all its own. I also noticed our illustrious host mentioned peanuts ...
> 
> mjb.


One could certainly do a theme of Tofu all its own. But based on past conversation levels, it wouldn't be very popular challenge.


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## jonpaul (Jan 5, 2014)

less than 24 hours since the challenge was launched & already some knockout entries!yep,teamfat,don't forget the peanuts...add them to thai/malaysian curries....peanut satay sauces.the states must have loads of peanut recipes,what with the huge amounts you grow/produce!.what about gram(chick pea/garbanzo bean)flour?used to make pakora,bhajis & mixed with regular flour to make chappati's & naan bread.....or just as a coating for frying food?anyone for cassoulet.....haricot beans,smoked bacon,garlic sausage & duck legs....what's not to like?especially when the weather is lousy!


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## chrisbelgium (Oct 2, 2010)

*Chili con carne served as a tapa*





  








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I'm a persistent heretic, so I do use and very much like beans in my chili con carne, more specific red kidney beans. Make a large batch, freeze some and serve as a delicious tapa, it's always an instant hit! Like all stews, the chili even tastes better reheated than freshly made.


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## butzy (Jan 8, 2010)

OK, since peanuts count, this one has to count 

Telor in katjang sauce (eggs in peanut sauce)

I use it as part of a rijsttafel or just in combination with a stir fry or basically anything (also tastes nice with a plate of chips)





  








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## helloitslucas (Apr 8, 2013)

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My greek butterbean soup! I love beans so I am really happy with this challenge!


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## jonpaul (Jan 5, 2014)

ChrisBelgium said:


> *Chili con carne served as a tapa*
> 
> I'm a persistent heretic, so I do use and very much like beans in my chili con carne, more specific red kidney beans. Make a large batch, freeze some and serve as a delicious tapa, it's always an instant hit! Like all stews, the chili even tastes better reheated than freshly made.


fab looking(and tasting i'm sure!)chili,you have there chris.nice to see it done with cubes of meat rather than minced(ground).as for the beans,mate....i dunno.i didn't realise there was such controversy over with beans/without beans....sounds like the makin's of a whole new thread,to me!


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## helloitslucas (Apr 8, 2013)

I only grew up with browned chunks of meat in chili, not ground, my entire life. The first time I had it with ground beef I thought I was going to cry. I've grown used to it now.


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## jonpaul (Jan 5, 2014)

butzy said:


> OK, since peanuts count, this one has to count
> 
> Telor in katjang sauce (eggs in peanut sauce)
> 
> I use it as part of a rijsttafel or just in combination with a stir fry or basically anything (also tastes nice with a plate of chips)





helloitslucas said:


> My greek butterbean soup! I love beans so I am really happy with this challenge!


@butzy....peanuts for sure,they're legumes!!that looks great,gotta be with chips/img/vbsmilies/smilies/licklips.gif!

@helloitslucas...if you're happy,i'm happy!!.good lookin' bowl of soup,lucas.


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## cerise (Jul 5, 2013)

JP, that Blazing Saddles clip - Oh, no he di'nt. (Open a window.)  LOL. Loving all the bean submissions.  How about the cocoa bean & coffee bean?   (I like chocolate ;-) )


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## jonpaul (Jan 5, 2014)

Cerise said:


> JP, that Blazing Saddles clip - Oh, no he di'nt. (Open a window.) LOL. Loving all the bean submissions. How about the cocoa bean & coffee bean? (I like chocolate ;-) )


oh yes he did,woulda been rude not too...funniest bit of one of the funniest movies ever,and totally appropriate,if i may say so...yippee kae ay!

cocoa & coffee beans?i dunno,i started to try to figure it out on wiki,but me head started to hurt/img/vbsmilies/smilies/crazy.gif!

you decide............!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bean


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## teamfat (Nov 5, 2007)

cocoa and coffee beans are actually fruit, as I recall.

mjb.


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## ordo (Mar 19, 2009)

*Mapo tofu*





  








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Beans in the tofu and in the sauce. It's not OK, cause, as you can see, the tofu broke appart. It should have kept its cube shape. But tasty it was.


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## nicko (Oct 5, 2001)

Hey All,

Two things. 1.) I created a fun little badge for the monthly challenge winner. Everyone who enters seems to be a winner to me but for those that get selected to carry the next month's torch it seemed fitting. If this can be improved please pm me.

2.) if you go to:
[article="28043"]Cheftalk Monthly Cooking Challenges [/article]
You will see all of our monthly challenges.

You will see me shortly with my favorite bean dish Fasolakia


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## helloitslucas (Apr 8, 2013)

ordo said:


> *Mapo tofu*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


My favourite tofu dish of all time! I actually like to break up the tofu before I dig in. My mouth started watering because I was thinking about all of the spices and chilies the last time I made it. YUM!


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## butzy (Jan 8, 2010)

Lentils this time:

I call it fusion dhal (made with lentils, smoked brisked, lemon grass, fish sauce, and garlic and served with some rye bread and a dollop of yoghurt to the side)

Now there is something that I have always wondered about:

India uses lots of beans and pulses etc, but they are hardly ever used in SE asian cooking (except for bean sprouts)? Does anyone know why?





  








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## jonpaul (Jan 5, 2014)

yesterday,i was having a mooch around chi yip,my local asian supermarket & they had some beautiful baby cuttlefish & lonnnnnng red chilli's!!.i had some henryk kania smoked kabanossi in the fridge,so it seemed like the makin's of a perfect combo with some haricot beans....worked rather well too!the smokiness of the sosso's really got into the whole dish,yum/img/vbsmilies/smilies/licklips.gif!

baby cuttlefish & kabanossi with haricot beans.griddled kalamata olive/greek oregano sourdough bloomer on the side.





  








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## genemachine (Sep 26, 2012)

Yesterday's dish: A simple lamb and chickpea stew with yogurth and mint:





  








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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

butzy said:


> Now there is something that I have always wondered about:
> 
> India uses lots of beans and pulses etc, but they are hardly ever used in SE asian cooking (except for bean sprouts)? Does anyone know why?


There are three main bean lines for south east asia. Mung beans, red beans (adzuki), soy beans. Most of these aren't consumed as whole beans. Mung beans are used for sprouts, for starch (cellophane noodles are from mung bean starch among other starches as well). Soy beans are fermented into soy sauce, tofu, red wet tofu (tofu cheese), fermented black beans (seasoning), bean sauces (seasoning) and so on. The red beans I most often encounter have been sweetened, usually in mashed form. Often appears in a bun, or as a layer in a sweet rice cake/pudding. Also whole red beans in coconut jelly.

Except for the sprouts, these are all processed forms of the bean, usually processed commercially, not so much as a home endeavor. This is likely because of the historic constraints regarding fuel and time which also shaped the wok and the fast wok style cooking. It required an economy of scale to process beans efficiently. Historically, this also meant that the processed forms that were most successful were shelf stable (salting/fermenting/drying) or able to be supplied in a timely manner. So there's the fermented preserved segment of the bean economy, and a "fresh" segment available from dried beans in a year round format to meet demand of the household consumer.

I think there's a parallel with baking. In both European and Asian history, towns had an oven, not individuals. You'd bring your dough or pig carcass in to get get baked/roasted along with the rest of the town. It took too much infrastructure and fuel for everyone to do it themselves. And the same concept applies to the bean in Asia.

India's development diverged strongly from the rest of Asia. India has much more lowland growing area, water, and biomass fuel. Consider the general lactose tolerance of India where the rest of Asia is largely lactose intolerant. Asia is more of a geopolitical designation. If you look at the genetics, India doesn't share so much with the rest of Asia.

Specifically tracking lactose tolerance: http://www.uneeda-audio.com/nomilk/li_map.htm

And one tracking basic regional genetic heritage http://inventorspot.com/articles/learn_your_genetic_ancestry_sali_7009


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## french fries (Sep 5, 2008)




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## french fries (Sep 5, 2008)

Today lunch was a simple lentil dish:

1) Measure the lentils and heat up about 1tsp of duck fat:





  








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2) Sweat diced onions (if I had bacon I would dice it and add it too), then later add celery (and carrots if you have), some black pepper:





  








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3) Add fresh rosemary, bay leaf and thyme (as I'm taking pictures the onions are starting to get "over-maillarded" there at the bottom of the first picture), then add lentils and a little over twice their volume in water:





  








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4) When the lentils are cooked, finish with a bit of Dijon mustard:





  








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## jonpaul (Jan 5, 2014)

French Fries said:


> Today lunch was a simple lentil dish:
> 
> 
> 
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that looks like an interesting mix of lentils,FF.do you mix your own?what lentils are in there?looks & sounds deelish,mate!bet the kitchen smelled wonderful when it was cooking,too/img/vbsmilies/smilies/licklips.gif!


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## jonpaul (Jan 5, 2014)

posted this one on valentines,as one of the courses that i cooked,for valentines dinner.the peanut satay sauce was only a small part of the dish,but added a massive amount of flavour.

chicken satay skewers on red gem leaves with cucumber riata & peanut satay sauce:





  








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## chrisbelgium (Oct 2, 2010)

How about some fresh beans?

These ones have many names like Italian beans, French beans...etc. We call them "snijbonen" meaning "beans to be cut". They're haricot family.

Here with pork in a sauce Cross & Blackwell or simply said, a piccalilli sauce. This dish dates from june 2012.





  








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## jonpaul (Jan 5, 2014)

ChrisBelgium said:


> How about some fresh beans?
> 
> These ones have many names like Italian beans, French beans...etc. We call them "snijbonen" meaning "beans to be cut". They're haricot family.
> 
> Here with pork in a sauce Cross & Blackwell or simply said, a piccalilli sauce. This dish dates from june 2012.


that looks deelish,chris.we call them runner beans over here,one of my favourite fresh beans & dead easy to grow,too.


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## butzy (Jan 8, 2010)

Thanks Patch for that feedback. I had actually totally forgotten all the processed beans, and that while I use copious amounts of soy sauce and I absolutely love tempeh/timpeh, but can't get it here.
FF, I am not a desert eater, so forgot those as well. I remember eating bean flavoured ice cream in Japan donkey's years ago, and was not impressed..

@JP, so we can use fresh beans as well for this challenge?


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## jonpaul (Jan 5, 2014)

butzy said:


> Thanks Patch for that feedback. I had actually totally forgotten all the processed beans, and that while I use copious amounts of soy sauce and I absolutely love tempeh/timpeh, but can't get it here.
> FF, I am not a desert eater, so forgot those as well. I remember eating bean flavoured ice cream in Japan donkey's years ago, and was not impressed..
> 
> @JP, so we can use fresh beans as well for this challenge?


absolutely!!you were clearly more interested in the "blazing saddles" clip than my intro to the challenge.....can't say i blame you tho',mate/img/vbsmilies/smilies/wink.gif/img/vbsmilies/smilies/lol.gif!!fresh,frozen,dried,processed...it's all good!

not only did chris post a great dish but it was a reminder to read my own intro!tend to focus on the dried pulses etc & tend to forget that there is some fabulous fresh produce,out there!

thanks for the timely reminder,chris!


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## nicko (Oct 5, 2001)

@JonPaul I did not get the bean part on your latest chicken entry. In the marinade or sauce?


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## french fries (Sep 5, 2008)

Nicko said:


> @JonPaul I did not get the bean part on your latest chicken entry. In the marinade or sauce?


It's the peanut sauce.


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## nicko (Oct 5, 2001)

@French Fries I did not realize nuts were part of the legume/bean family: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peanut

Thanks.


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## french fries (Sep 5, 2008)

JonPaul said:


> that looks like an interesting mix of lentils,FF.do you mix your own?what lentils are in there?looks & sounds deelish,mate!bet the kitchen smelled wonderful when it was cooking,too/img/vbsmilies/smilies/licklips.gif!


Thanks Jon! I was surprised when I took those lentils out of the pantry. Not sure what they were, they were the end of a jar... I don't usually buy mixes (especially with things like lentils that may require different cooking times) so I believe it's just one variety, only different colors. Not sure.

The kitchen did smell wonderful between the duck fat, bay leaf, thyme and rosemary... they all help bringing some meatiness to the dish (my wife was persuaded I had used some bacon).


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## french fries (Sep 5, 2008)

Nicko said:


> @French Fries I did not realize nuts were part of the legume/bean family: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peanut
> 
> Thanks.


@Nicko I didn't know either until this thread! I knew they weren't from the nuts family, but no idea they were a legume.


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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

Peanuts are legumes. The other treenuts are not.


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## jonpaul (Jan 5, 2014)

Nicko said:


> @JonPaul I did not get the bean part on your latest chicken entry. In the marinade or sauce?





Nicko said:


> @French Fries I did not realize nuts were part of the legume/bean family: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peanut
> 
> Thanks.





French Fries said:


> @Nicko I didn't know either until this thread! I knew they weren't from the nuts family, but no idea they were a legume.





phatch said:


> Peanuts are legumes. The other treenuts are not.


yep,the peanuts are in the satay sauce & i also put a spoonful in the marinade.as phatch says,they are legumes.the give away is the other name for them....groundnuts.i grew some in a pot in the glasshouse once.facinating to watch them grow.tendrils emerge from the plant(a la triffids!) & then they burrow under the soil,where the nuts develop,underground.hence the name "ground nut".so there ya go!!


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## nicko (Oct 5, 2001)

@JonPaul Well I truly was "Challenged" in my food knowledge this month. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/smiles.gif

@French Fries is there any hope of winning a challenge for the "Legume-ly Challenged"?


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## jonpaul (Jan 5, 2014)

Nicko said:


> @JonPaul Well I truly was "Challenged" in my food knowledge this month. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/smiles.gif
> 
> @French Fries is there any hope of winning a challenge for the "Legume-ly Challenged"?


c'mon nicko,do us a "fava",you're hardly a "has bean","old bean"......sheesh,that WAS bad,even by my standards.i'll get me coat.........


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## nicko (Oct 5, 2001)

@JonPaul love it man! I am a punnster at heart. So lets get back to the nuts, I mean bean challenge. I am bringing my dishes shortly so keep an eye open.


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## jonpaul (Jan 5, 2014)

Nicko said:


> @JonPaul love it man! I am a punnster at heart. So lets get back to the nuts, I mean bean challenge. I am bringing my dishes shortly so keep an eye open.


will do!


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## koukouvagia (Apr 3, 2008)

Nicko said:


> @JonPaul Well I truly was "Challenged" in my food knowledge this month. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/smiles.gif
> 
> @French Fries is there any hope of winning a challenge for the "Legume-ly Challenged"?


Buck up, you're a Greek. You can think of something! Dig deep into your roots, ask an elder, you'll find a lot of recipes eaten after the "Katoxi"


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## abaff410 (Jan 22, 2014)

Awesome challenge idea! I was actually thinking that if I ever got selected to come up with a challenge it would be beans. Here's dish#1 for me. Seared chicken thigh with Vermont cranberry beans, golden beet gastrique, puffed wheat berries and goat cheese foam. While on vacation in Vermont, my girlfriend and I saw the most beautiful cranberry beans in an adorable co-op market, so we bought some and I designed this dish around them. I'd say one of the tastiest things to ever come out of my kitchen!





  








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## eastshores (Oct 23, 2008)

Nice aba! @ChrisBelgium I noticed the plating has groupings of 3+2 /img/vbsmilies/smilies/wink.gif and a decent amount of "negative space". Aba did you make a lecithin foam for the goat cheese foam or use a different technique?


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## abaff410 (Jan 22, 2014)

eastshores said:


> Nice aba! @ChrisBelgium I noticed the plating has groupings of 3+2 /img/vbsmilies/smilies/wink.gif and a decent amount of "negative space". Aba did you make a lecithin foam for the goat cheese foam or use a different technique?


No. When I'm making any dairy based foam I use my milk frother. I blended some goat cheese with a bit of skim milk, then used my milk frother to make it foamy and put it in the microwave for about 20 seconds which makes the bubbles get bigger and more stable. Just be careful not to microwave it for too long or it will break.


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## chrisbelgium (Oct 2, 2010)

eastshores said:


> Nice aba! @ChrisBelgium I noticed the plating has groupings of 3+2 /img/vbsmilies/smilies/wink.gif and a decent amount of "negative space". Aba did you make a lecithin foam for the goat cheese foam or use a different technique?


Yes, I agree east, our friend abaff uses quite some plating technique. Stunning plate abaff!

Even more, I wonder if the positioning of the 3 pieces of meat is done randomly or are they all pointing to the same vanishing point outside the plate on purpose? And, beautiful diagonal positioning too.


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## abaff410 (Jan 22, 2014)

ChrisBelgium said:


> Yes, I agree east, our friend abaff uses quite some plating technique. Stunning plate abaff!
> 
> Even more, I wonder if the positioning of the 3 pieces of meat is done randomly or are they all pointing to the same vanishing point outside the plate on purpose? And, beautiful diagonal positioning too.


Thanks! I wanted the placement of the meat to feel random but not unattractive, so I placed them a different angles but pointed them in the same direction to give a feeling of being 'fanned out' without actually touching. I like my plates to have some element of controlled chaos. I'd say this one was definitely inspired by the works of chefs like Wolvesmouth. One of my favorite professors in culinary school used to describe this style as "plates that look like everything fell out of the sky and happened to land in the right place." I'm glad you like it!


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## chrisbelgium (Oct 2, 2010)

Organized chaos, love it! I sure can learn a lot from your plating. Thanks abaff.


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## steve tphc (Sep 18, 2012)

Hey Great pictures could you Caption these so we can find out what the are ?

Thnaks


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## jonpaul (Jan 5, 2014)

bit of a blast from the past paired with an italian classic,for dinner tonight.i first cooked trout this way,back in the 80's & it still works...well,it does for me,anyway.rainbow trout stuffed with lemon thyme & baked in soggy newspaper served with baby broad(fava)beans fried with smoked pancetta,shallots,garlic,chilli flakes & parsley(the italian bit!).steamed blue belle potatoes.not as pretty a plate as some of the food on here,but bloody tasty nonetheless!





  








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## ordo (Mar 19, 2009)

Nce JP.

Hummus is coming





  








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## eastshores (Oct 23, 2008)

Nice dishes everyone! Ordo, I love hummus.. I get wheat flatbread from the grocer and then toast it with feta cheese and kalamata olives, cut it into slices and spoon hummus onto it.. one of the tastiest 5 minute dishes I know of.

It has been raining here for two days so I decided to make my first entry a sort of comfort food from Indian cuisine. These are called pakoras, but I think most people would call this a kind of fritter. The bonus for this is two different kinds of peas. The flour is 1 part chickpea flour to 1/4 part rice flour. You can use all kinds of vegetables but for this challenge I added sweet peas. Served fresh with a side of sriracha ketchup.





  








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Edit: I should have said what else made these tasty. Minced garlic and ginger, finely chopped cilantro, and a little dash of cayenne pepper.


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## petalsandcoco (Aug 25, 2009)

Great looking dishes everyone . 

@JP: I have never cooked in newspaper , ever ! Your dish looks terrific. 

@Ordo: Tell me you are going to drizzle a touch of olive oil on that once it's plated 

Shores: Taste of India , what a tasty dish. I also enjoy it with chutney or lime pickle.


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## jonpaul (Jan 5, 2014)

eastshores said:


> Nice dishes everyone! Ordo, I love hummus.. I get wheat flatbread from the grocer and then toast it with feta cheese and kalamata olives, cut it into slices and spoon hummus onto it.. one of the tastiest 5 minute dishes I know of.
> 
> It has been raining here for two days so I decided to make my first entry a sort of comfort food from Indian cuisine. These are called pakoras, but I think most people would call this a kind of fritter. The bonus for this is two different kinds of peas. The flour is 1 part chickpea flour to 1/4 part rice flour. You can use all kinds of vegetables but for this challenge I added sweet peas. Served fresh with a side of sriracha ketchup.
> 
> Edit: I should have said what else made these tasty. Minced garlic and ginger, finely chopped cilantro, and a little dash of cayenne pepper.


perfick pakora's,easty!nice job,mate!


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## jonpaul (Jan 5, 2014)

petalsandcoco said:


> Great looking dishes everyone .
> 
> @JP: I have never cooked in newspaper , ever ! Your dish looks terrific.
> 
> ...


cheers,petals!coming from the home of fish & chips,we are used to eating our fish out of newspaper too/img/vbsmilies/smilies/wink.gif/img/vbsmilies/smilies/lol.gif!!

you bake the parcel for about 20-25 mins @225c/400f.as the water evaporates,the fish steams,then it bakes in the dry paper.this stage imparts a slight "smokey" flavour to the fish.the great thing is that you bring it to the table,grip the end of the paper & lift so that the parcel unrolls like a roll of carpet or wall paper.right at the end the fish pops out with the skin left sticking to the paper but with the head & tail still attached.i removed those for the photo's as the fish was too big for the plate.moist/flavoursome fish guaranteed!great for cooking whole salmon,too.just have to increase the number of layers of paper due to the longer cooking time.


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## petalsandcoco (Aug 25, 2009)

Thanks JP , I am used to cooking en papillote but will concider this technique in the summer on the BBQ. 
We don't serve in paper here. It's the big ink scare.


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## jonpaul (Jan 5, 2014)

petalsandcoco said:


> Thanks JP , I am used to cooking en papillote but will concider this technique in the summer on the BBQ.
> We don't serve in paper here. It's the big ink scare.


it does work well on the BBQ,petals.i tried it after i saw a jamie oliver prog,years back,when he cooked a whole salmon over charcoal,on the beach.need a good few layers of paper otherwise it has a tendency to burn off before the fish is cooked.same here with the ink scare,it's all soulless,sanitised polystyrene trays now....borrrrrring,i mean,you've nothing to read while you eat your fish,chips & mushies!!


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## jonpaul (Jan 5, 2014)

pork "souvlaki"....well.....almost.so,ok there are no chunks of meat on skewers but,it's all about the marinade,anyway.battened out pork leg steaks marinated in greek evoo,garlic,lemon juice,red wine vinegar,parsley & greek oregano then griddled & served with spaghetti squash & flat beans baked with tomatoes & garlic.





  








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## eastshores (Oct 23, 2008)

Looks really tasty JP.. How well does that marinade carry into the pork? It looks great.. I'd be tempted to reserve some before marinating to spoon over the grilled pork!


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## koukouvagia (Apr 3, 2008)

JonPaul said:


> pork "souvlaki"....well.....almost.so,ok there are no chunks of meat on skewers but,it's all about the marinade,anyway.battened out pork leg steaks marinated in greek evoo,garlic,lemon juice,red wine vinegar,parsley & greek oregano then griddled & served with spaghetti squash & flat beans baked with tomatoes & garlic.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I could eat pork this way everyday JP. Next time try using roasted garlic in the marinade and you'll thank me later. I've been missing a good souvlaki lately. Actually I don't know what to call this because it's not actually souvlaki, maybe marinaded pork steak. Souvlaki literally means "little spit" and is meant to be grilled over open flame but all the typical flavors are there.


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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

Chinese fermented black beans, usually a black soy bean. Usually called douchi in the modern pinyin, older cookbooks may call it dow see. It's thought to be one of the oldest soy bean products, with archaeological evidence to 165 BCE. There's a free history of the product in PDF form that is surprising large and detailed.

I think they have a pungent earthiness reminiscent of the earthy flavor of hoisin, but hoisin is milder and sweetened. Opening the jar is a pretty pungent experience.





  








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Here's my jar. I keep the bag they came in in the jar as well to remind what they are. They keep pretty much forever.





  








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Clockwise from the upper left, the black beans soaking in rice wine, my corn starch slurry (using the stock mix to the right as the liquid), stock mix, juilienne onion, pork, broccoli, minced garlic.





  








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Stir fry nearing completion.





  








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Dinner's on.


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## michaelga (Jan 30, 2012)

Very nice!  

Awesome idea to forgo the sweetness of hoisin / oyster sauce and use the sweetness of the pork / onions with fermented black beans instead.

The only nit-pick ... it would go better with a medium grain rice. 

Long grain is fine if you have a sauce, but when you don't the moist texture of medium grain rice is a big benefit.

Please don't get me wrong, as I'd not turn my nose up at that dish.


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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

There's a little brown sugar in the stock mix bowl so it's not without a bit of sugar.  The rice is actually a blend of long and short grain rice. The short grain rice is to give the rice some stickiness so you can eat it with the chopsticks. There's a thin glaze of a suace, but not much to speak of.


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## michaelga (Jan 30, 2012)

Ah ... cool stuff with the rice.

I should have said with not much sauce, not none my bad.

Still a great meal i'm sure of it.

Ever make Tigers & Strawberries 'Ocean Broccoli & Beef' ?

(amazing)


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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

That looks interesting.


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## jonpaul (Jan 5, 2014)

eastshores said:


> Looks really tasty JP.. How well does that marinade carry into the pork? It looks great.. I'd be tempted to reserve some before marinating to spoon over the grilled pork!


it sure is,easty!battening out the meat not only tenderises & thins out the meat but the little indentations left by the hammer allow the flavours to get right into it!plus,unless i'm marinading fish or seafood,i always marinade meat for at least 24hrs.lots of receep's say "marinade for 2 to 4 hrs" which is fine for fish/seafood but is way too short for meat,imo.good idea about using reserved marinade as a spoon over.probably have to add a bit of sugar tho'.there is lemon juice & red wine vinegar in there.....hmmm,maybe add a few leaves of shredded mint,too..perfect with another greek favourite,lamb!good thinking,easty!think we've got the makin's of a plan,mate!


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## jonpaul (Jan 5, 2014)

Koukouvagia said:


> I could eat pork this way everyday JP. Next time try using roasted garlic in the marinade and you'll thank me later. I've been missing a good souvlaki lately. Actually I don't know what to call this because it's not actually souvlaki, maybe marinaded pork steak. Souvlaki literally means "little spit" and is meant to be grilled over open flame but all the typical flavors are there.


cheers,koukou!!glad you approve!i'll definitely give the roasted garlic a go,next time.you're right about the skewers,problem was twofold.the pork steaks looked so darn good,they didn't have any decent sized chunks of shoulder for cubing & the ready diced cubes were too small.okay,so that's threefold/img/vbsmilies/smilies/crazy.gif!!definitely one for the BBQ,when summer arrives or maybe i'll just jump on a plane to get the real mccoy on spetses.love that beautiful little island.............


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## jonpaul (Jan 5, 2014)

phatch said:


> Chinese fermented black beans, usually a black soy bean. Usually called douchi in the modern pinyin, older cookbooks may call it dow see. It's thought to be one of the oldest soy bean products, with archaeological evidence to 165 BCE. There's a free history of the product in PDF form that is surprising large and detailed.
> 
> I think they have a pungent earthiness reminiscent of the earthy flavor of hoisin, but hoisin is milder and sweetened. Opening the jar is a pretty pungent experience.
> 
> ...


our first stir fry & damn tasty it looks/sounds too,phatch!nice job,mate!


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## butzy (Jan 8, 2010)

Interesting dishes all!
Patch, that is quite a document. I know those black beans as toatjo. 

I am prepping a bunch of mung beans, so will be making something with bean sprouts in the next couple of days


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## genemachine (Sep 26, 2012)

Nothing fancy this time, but I'd like to present some local rural cuisine, a lentil soup that is quite popular in southern germany:

Chop up onions, celery, carrots, leek, turnips and bacon:





  








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Fry the onions, bacon, carrots and celery, then add the turnips and leek.





  








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Add beef broth, season with salt, pepper, majoram, lovage and savory. Simmer until the vegetables are tender, then add pre-cooked lentils.





  








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Finally, season it with vinegar. It needs to be decidedly acidic. It can be served with viennese sausages or slices of ham, but I wanted to present the pure form here.


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## butzy (Jan 8, 2010)

A made up dish with Thai flavours:





  








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Beef mince cooked up with garlic, onion, lemongrass, tomato, chili paste and some pieces of dried galangal





  








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Beans added and a splash of fish sauce





  








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And ready for eating

I served it with rice and had the leftovers the next day with rice noodles (sorry no plating pictures)


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## chrisbelgium (Oct 2, 2010)

*Experimental Garbanzo Burger *

I know there are all kinds of "veggie" burgers for sale everywhere but I never ate one. This thread is a good stimulant to try to make one, and, I love kitchen experiments. So here's my attempt in making a "Garbanzo Burger". My first thought was to grind half of the cooked garbanzos coarsely and the other half as fine as possible, almost like a paste, which would serve as the component that kept everything together.





  








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Here's what I used; storebought cooked garbanzos, some pistachios, cumin, egg, halfdried apricots, pomegranate thickened juice, parsely, shallot. I did not use the harissa in the picture nor the tamarinde but I did use some rosemary, pimentón, lots of olive oil and a bit of rapeseed oil.





  








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In the first coarse batch I used garbanzos of course, pistachios, apricots, pimentón, cumin. Then I added the shallot and the parsely plus some rapeseed oil and an egg, hoping it would already bind this first mixture a bit. The second batch was an attempt to make a paste with garbanzos, pomegranate, quite a lot of olive oil. The pomegranate, originating from Iran, is not sweet but quite sour. It is a syrup.





  








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Then I folded both mixes together and made the Garbanzo Burgers. I immediately felt that they were too soft, probably from using too much oil. Next time I will add no oil but maybe simply some water? Tastewise, this raw mixture was amazing!

Panfried the Garbanzo Burgers. They came out too soft as expected and also, or should I say therefore, too crumbly to my linking. Taste was quite good but not spectacular. What was spectacular was the salad (salsa?) I added; bloodoranges peeled "à vif", thinly sliced Belgian endives and julienne of unpeeled semi-sweet apple... great pairing with the burgers!





  








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Any suggestions on improving these Garbanzo Burgers, using most of the soldid ingredients I used, are very much welcome!


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## oregonyeti (Jun 16, 2007)

Something I posted a few years ago:

In the NE corner of India near Myanmar (Burma) live the Naga people, who I grew up with. This is from them.

Naga Bean Curry
 

Use fresh green beans and shell beans (canned beans work fine). I like a mixture of bean types, maybe 3 15-oz cans, each a different kind==kidney beans, black beans and butter beans, or whatever. (If you like tofu, it also goes really well with this--cube firm or extra-firm tofu and add it at the same time as the beans. My addition to the recipe). Make it mild or spicy by excluding or including the cayenne pepper.

2 T veg oil
2 t garam masala or curry powder
1 t turmeric
-->heat the spices in the oil
2-3 yellow onions, sliced thinly
-->fry in the oil with the spices 'til the onions are a little browned, stirring often
--> add:
1 lb fresh beans (green, yellow, whatever)
about 5 cups or 3 cans cooked shell-type beans (if canned, rinse)
* include tofu in this amount if desired--it adds a good texture and soaks up the flavor
1-2 tomatoes, chopped, or sauce
3 bay leaves
water to cover beans
3-4 chopped cloves garlic
1 T grated fresh ginger
cayenne pepper to taste (optional)

--> cook 'til the fresh beans are done, salt to taste
--> serve on plain rice--I recommend basmati or jasmine rice
This is just as good 2 days later.


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## teamfat (Nov 5, 2007)

I'll be strolling over to Southeast Market son, will look for those preserved beans.

mjb.


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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

You can get them in a prepared sauce as well in glass jars. I think the plain beans are more versatile though. Don't be afraid to ask. That's how I got this bag of them.


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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

The one time I made chicken feet, they finish is a fermented black beans sauce. I don't have pictures, but this is pretty close to what I did.






http://panlasangpinoy.com/2009/03/14/spicy-chicken-feet/


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## ordo (Mar 19, 2009)




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## petalsandcoco (Aug 25, 2009)

Now that is Hummus !

It was a beautiful sunny day and I decided to make Mulligatawny.





  








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The ingredients.





  








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The soup.

There is a big history around this soup. After thinking things out, I decided to put my own spin on it.

Kramer said it best :


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## ordo (Mar 19, 2009)

Now, that's a soup! Hilarious episode.


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## mike9 (Jul 13, 2012)

phatch said:


> The one time I made chicken feet, they finish is a fermented black beans sauce. I don't have pictures, but this is pretty close to what I did.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


We got us a buffet up the line a ways and it has Phoenix Claws and pork knuckle in black bean sauce - yummy!! I make a point of grossing out my table mates with a plate of that stuff when we go. Mmmm . . . yummy collagen goodness.

Anyway I digress - looks like it's time for a batch of down home Charro Beans 'for the month's over.


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## french fries (Sep 5, 2008)

*Dal:*

1) Pink lentils & diced onion in water -  2) Once lentils are cooked, add diced tomatoes and thicken some more.





  








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3) Fry spices in butter (ghee if you have it) - 4) Mix spice paste with Dal:





  








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5) Finish with fresh cilantro (fresh from the backyard!) - 6) Here served with Indian spiced sweet potatoes, tikka ribs (recipe courtesy from @JonPaul) and brown basmati rice:





  








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## jonpaul (Jan 5, 2014)

French Fries said:


> *Dal:*
> 
> 1) Pink lentils & diced onion in water -  2) Once lentils are cooked, add diced tomatoes and thicken some more.
> 
> ...


great job,FF!certainly done the tikka ribs justice,mate.you've got a perfect consistency on the dal,too.looks deelish!


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## jonpaul (Jan 5, 2014)

that hummus has to be one of the most beautiful dishes i've seen,seriously!


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## ordo (Mar 19, 2009)

Thanks Jon.


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## french fries (Sep 5, 2008)

JonPaul said:


> great job,FF!certainly done the tikka ribs justice,mate.you've got a perfect consistency on the dal,too.looks deelish!


Thanks! /img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif


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## ordo (Mar 19, 2009)

Preparing a rich soup for _Pasta e fagioli_ (pasta and beans) tomorrow. This one has a small pork elbow to enhance flavour and texture.





  








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## butzy (Jan 8, 2010)

Looking good all !!!

I made a multi-purpose lentil dish

The ingredients (not in the right amounts and I didn't use the lemon). The chili's are grown in my little garden, The ham was left over from the day before





  








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I fried the fatty bits of the ham to render the oil





  








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Then fried the onions, chili's and garlic





  








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Added some coconut cream and water





  








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Went through the lentils to see if there were no stones in them





  








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Added the lentils and cherry tomatoes and kept simmering till the lentils were done





  








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At this point I divided the mixture in portion to freeze and kept a little bit.

Added a bit of water to make it more soupy, some more tomatoes, some fish sauce and served as a soup with basil, coriander leaves and some fried onions on the top





  








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Ideas for the left overs:

Fry some cumin and coriander, add turmeric and add to the mix and it becomes a sort of mixed up dhal

Add ginger, galangal and soy and it becomes an Indonesian flavoured soup

Add noodles, fish sauce, ****** lime leaves and some lemon juice and we got another nice dish


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## ordo (Mar 19, 2009)

*Pasta e fagioli*

Pasta and beans, a classic Italian comfort dish

Ingredients.





  








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Soaking the dried beans for 12 hours.





  








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Making the soup with a pork elbow.





  








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Simmering the beans.





  








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Get all togheter. Simmer for a while. Add the pasta. Serve.





  








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Da morire!


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## french fries (Sep 5, 2008)

ordo said:


> Da morire!


It does look very good. Can you eat anything on that pork elbow or is it to infuse the broth and for its gelatin?


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## ordo (Mar 19, 2009)

FF: You eat every bite of it.


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## michaelga (Jan 30, 2012)

French Fries said:


> It does look very good. Can you eat anything on that pork elbow or is it to infuse the broth and for its gelatin?


A little of the first and a lot of the second. (there are little nuggets of very fine meat and chewy bits but it's more for the broth and gelatin - think of it, as not quite chicken feet! )

And before anyone says gross! Have you ever nibbled on the cartilage and crispy bits on the end of a deep fried chicken drumstick? Bet ya have!


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## chrisbelgium (Oct 2, 2010)

ordo said:


> *Pasta e fagioli*
> 
> Pasta and beans, a classic Italian comfort dish
> 
> ...


Da morire; absolutely! Love the great pictures, ordo.


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## oldschool1982 (Jun 27, 2006)

The original idea was to make an old fashioned Virginia Peanut soup but since that is off the current list of approved foods I can eat, I had to go with Pasta e Fragiol. Maybe I'll make it and then give it away just to get it logged in here.

Also, as a disclaimer for this post, I had some prepared already and thawed it for lunch today. When I make another batch next week, I'll insert the missing photo's for a more proper viewing of the procedures. I apologize but we didn't have room in the fridge for another batch and I wanted to keep the old FIFO mentality. Also, the pantry is getting low from the winter and I had to substitute canned beans and what remains of my dried basil from last summers growth. We're down to the crumbs so to speak and it'll be a few weeks before we can get fresh started. The stuff in the stores is looking pitiful and wasn't worth the price

Like almost all other ethnic/regional dishes, there is a recipe for every family across the globe. I saw the post earlier about the use of a pork and at least for the purpose of this dish in my family, it would not be appropriate. Basically, this was what we ate on Friday's during Lent because it was meatless. Over the years I have made some variations adding sausage or meatballs as meats or escarole or chicory for additional flavor and extension.

The way it is prepared is how the DW and DD prefer it so let's start with the basics. Being my lunch, I opted for whole wheat couscous in place of the pasta. One of those things that's on the approved list but I didn't want to waste the pasta choice on lunch today.

Extra Virgin Olive oil, sea salt, black pepper, garlic, red onion, ground tomatoes (I prefer 6in1 because of their flavor and consistency), basil (again fresh whenever possible and in copious amounts), beans (you can use any white bean and I have used everything from butter beans to garbanzos), Arbol peppers (optional for heat) and couscous as the pasta.





  








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Will insert cooking procedure here next week. Until then......

Dice the onion and chop the garlic. Saute both in olive oil until translucent. You can add some crushed pepper here to infuse it in the oil and onion mixture. Add 1 can ground tomatoes and then thin with 1 can of water. Add your choice of beans and simmer. If using dried basil, add at this point and simmer until beans are soft. If using fresh basil, simmer and then turn heat off adding roughly chopped basil at the very end. While the beans are simmering, begin you choice of pasta.

1 cup whole wheat couscous toasted in olive oil.





  








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Add to 2 cups salted water and cook covered for 6-8 minutes.





  








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Finished product. Light red color since beans are added and cooked at different stages for the variance of texture. Some are cooked down and others are just done.





  








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Serve in a bowl topped with couscous (or pasta of your choice).





  








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Completely dressed and ready to eat topped with grated Romano Cheese, fresh crushed Arbol peppers and grapes for a side. BTW, that was the best looking bunch of grapes I've seen from a super market in eons and decided to include the whole bunch rather than a clipping from it.





  








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Edit: While sitting at the High School waiting to pick up the DD and take her to swim practice, it dawned on me that I should clarify this is the winter/cold weather version of my dish. It's much thicker and "bone-sticking".

The summer version is far lighter utilizing only fresh tomatoes, like Roma's from the garden, instead of canned. It's much thinner, almost broth-like in the bowl since the beans are only added all at one time. Plus the pot is not cooked near as long since I don't like to over-cook fresh tomatoes.


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## cheflayne (Aug 21, 2004)

I took inspiration from the cuisines and spices of North Africa, especially Tunsia, but also with a nod to the Middle East. However obviously I also took a lot of liberties as well so, at any rate:

cinnamon chile oil marinated tofu, sauteed; with a roasted red bell pepper and harissa sauce seasoned with toasted coriander and caraway

ver jus braised red cabbage seasoned with nigella

chix peas patties seasoned with toasted cumin, cilantro, mint, and ginger, sauteed; with an edamame hummus





  








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## jonpaul (Jan 5, 2014)

ok,so we are almost half way through the month & we've already had some fabulous dishes & stunning photography,posted!but,this is a marathon,not a sprint & i'm sure everyone has got some ideas/dishes "up their sleeves" & a few in reserve.still waiting for boston baked beans(c'mon america!),cassoulet(bet chrisb does a good one) & insalata di tonno,cipolla e fagioli.have you noticed how some real stunners always hit the challenges on the last day,tactics,tactics/img/vbsmilies/smilies/wink.gif??? bit like an ebay auction with 10 seconds to go....me pulse(s) is racing at the thought...pulses...beans...gettit?bad eh/img/vbsmilies/smilies/rolleyes.gif?!here's one from a while back.octopus stew with chick peas(garbanzo beans)in roasted red pepper/tomato sauce that i had left over from another dish.





  








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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

I've never seen such a preparation with Octopus. Interesting.


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## ordo (Mar 19, 2009)

Have to say the same. Looks pretty good JP.


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## jonpaul (Jan 5, 2014)

phatch said:


> I've never seen such a preparation with Octopus. Interesting.





ordo said:


> Have to say the same. Looks pretty good JP.


really?well,thanks chaps!during the winter months my local tesco has fresh cornish octopus for sale.apart from being one of the cheapest seafoods on the slab(£5/$7.50 per kilo,£2.50/$3.75 per lb)i get discount 'cos i'm the only person who buy's them.typical brits,living on an island,surrounded by some of the best waters in the world & they won't buy fish unless it comes in a vac pac,with no skin or bones & boiling/microwave instructions on the label....no wonder europe imports 90% of our fish/seafood catch!right,rant over!.soooooo,i always have a few tenderising in the freezer.i like spain,i like morocco,the spanish love octopus & there is a lot of north african influences in their cuisine from the days of the moorish invasion & their proximity to morocco.soooooo,i wanted to do a moroccan/spanish octopus fusion dish...hence the tagine,chick peas,octopus & chorizo.well,it made sense to me,anyway/img/vbsmilies/smilies/crazy.gif!!

oh yeah,unlike with a turkey,there's no fighting over who gets a leg either...................


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## teamfat (Nov 5, 2007)

Surprised there aren't already half a dozen versions of this dish presented.

The veggies:





  








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In truth the shallot wasn't used. The celery, not in picture, was less than ideal, so not as much was used in my trinity, didn't want to overdo the onion component.

The beans:





  








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Your standard red kidney beans, soaked overnight. What you can't see in this photo is the garlic - a few smashed cloves under there that soaked all night as well. I like garlic.

The meat:





  








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On the left is some of the pickle meat I made. I took some pictures of that process, but with my wife's camera. Which is with her in Phoenix at the moment. Oh well. On the right is some Aidell's andouille. Not bad, but I'd like a little more smoke and up the ratio, more course ground, less fine ground pork. I may try my hand at making some soon.

The rice:





  








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I mentioned this in the gumbo thread, it is a medium grain "sushi rice" grown in the USA.

So sweat the veggies, throw in the beans, the diced pickle meat, salt, pepper, the cayenne, a couple bay leaves, some hot sauce, thyme and water. It simmered for about 2 hours. Uncover, add the sausage and let it continue to simmer while preparing the rice.

Getting close:





  








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I did the rice similar to what PHatch mentioned in the gumbo thread. Saute in butter for a while before adding the water, but I used garlic salt instead of minced garlic.

The final product:





  








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Needed a hunk of last night's cornbread to capture any wayward goodies that tried to breach the plate's perimeter. That's a basic American lager in the glass. I'm surprised no one gave me grief about the bottle of ketchup in my pic of the shrimp and grits. I guess no one was paying much attention.

Red beans and rice - good stuff!

mjb.


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## michaelga (Jan 30, 2012)

meh...   I like it on my leftover spaghetti ... my dad likes it on his peas!

What is one to do?

-----

What I will scream about is 5lb for ? $6 bucks! ?

Jeepersz Christmaz....

I pay $9 for a 2lb bag.

---

It is worth it though best of the best - my relatives bring suitcases full back with them.


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## genemachine (Sep 26, 2012)

MichaelGA said:


> A little of the first and a lot of the second. (there are little nuggets of very fine meat and chewy bits but it's more for the broth and gelatin - think of it, as not quite chicken feet! )
> 
> And before anyone says gross! Have you ever nibbled on the cartilage and crispy bits on the end of a deep fried chicken drumstick? Bet ya have!


Always good to see that I am not the only one who likes to nibble on pig trotters and chicken feet.

Reminds me that I still got a trotter in the freezer... Hm... I once had some portuguese bean stew with pig's feet in some very rural portuguese village. The restaurant had no menu, there was just the dish of the day, I guess, since I didn't speak portuguese and the waiter didn't speak english or german. Ended up getting a HUGE bowl of that stew and it was glorious.

Might try to recreate that one.


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## jonpaul (Jan 5, 2014)

dinner tonight was,well,i don't know...just made it up as i went along.firstly the lamb.three beautiful welsh mountain lamb loin chops marinaded for 24 hours in evoo,garlic,lemon juice & peel,oregano,black pepper & maldon smoked sea salt.the beans.greek "gigantic" dried beans,soaked overnight then cooked with passata,mixed olives marinaded in basil & garlic & the marinade from the lamb.simply cleared off most of the marinade from the lamb,seared the chops in some evoo,removed the lamb,tipped in the beans,olives,passata & marinade.popped in the lamb for the last few minutes




  








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## butzy (Jan 8, 2010)

First time ever attempt at making spring rolls.

I tried to make my own wrappers, but failed miserably and decided to use rice paper wrappers instead (luckily I had a couple of packs in the fridge (forgot to mention those in the "what's in your fridge" thread /img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif)

The ingredients:

Beef mince, garlic, chili and ginger





  








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Ketjap manis (sweet soy) & spring roll wrappers





  








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some lemon juice, fresh coriander and home grown bean sprouts





  








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The garlic, ginger and chili got pounded to a paste





  








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Once the mince was browned, the other ingredients were added to form the spring roll filling





  








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Tried to nicely wrap the filling in the moistened rice paper wrapper





  








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And deep fried them for a couple of minutes in oil of around 175 oC





  








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There was another spring roll, but that one opened a bit when I put it in the oil, so it got a bit of a weird shape.

I suppose I should have sealed the packages with a bit of flour and water.

All in all not too bad for a first attempt /img/vbsmilies/smilies/chef.gif


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## oldschool1982 (Jun 27, 2006)

Lunch today. This is my take on a no-name Asian style vegetable soup (like hot and sour) using fermented black beans.





  








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Something I forgot I had but then dawned on me would fit in the challenge. I guess I need to apologize in advance for not getting every ingredient or procedure in the shot. This was hastily thrown together for posting so the items missing are spices like ginger and white pepper plus corn starch for thickening and some Boca crumbles used in place of ground pork/beef (because of that approved food list again) and chicken and vegetable dumplings. I also don't venture down the Asian path very often because I can never get the seasoning right. I have maybe, 4-5 dishes that I will work with and this is one of them....albeit very basic.

I started with cooking the dumplings. These are chicken and vegetable and work fairly well, but any could be used. I have also eaten this with broken Thai rice noodles and enjoy it.

Then it's on with the basic veggies like cabbage, carrot, baby bok choy, shiitake mushrooms, green onion and garlic. I normally would have put bean sprouts in here too but the market was out.





  








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Cut the veggies to your liking, mine is on a bias, and saute them in a little peanut oil. After about 2 minutes, go ahead and roughly chop some of the fermented black beans and add to pot and saute just a minute longer.

Turn down heat and make a wet mix of white vinegar (was out of rice wine vinegar so this was the substitute) soy sauce, chili garlic sauce, ginger, white pepper, beef stock (chicken can be substituted), sake, cornstarch and water. Be sure to adjust all ingredients to taste before adding cornstarch. I like it a little sour and more heat so I add extra of the vinegar and chili garlic sauce.

Add mix to veggie mix and heat to thicken. You can adjust your thickness but I take mine to about the same thickness as hot and sour soup.





  








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Add some fresh chopped cilantro and your Boca crumbles and turn off heat.





  








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Serve with the cooked dumplings, a drizzle of sesame oil and enjoy!





  








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## michaelga (Jan 30, 2012)

Beans that taste like ... well just beans.

(adapted from Steve Sando's Basic Cooked Beans and Eden Organic's canned bean process)

1. Sort and pick out any broken beans or debris.

2. Wash the beans in a colander to remove any dust / dirt.

3. Put the beans in the pot you will cook them in, cover with water 3-4 inches above the beans.

4. Soak the beans for 2-6 hours, making sure to keep the water at least 2" above the beans.

5. Top up the water if needed and bring the pot with the soaking water to a hard boil for 10 minutes.

6. Reduce heat and simmer the beans for about 2 hours when you'll start to smell the beans.

7. Add:

4" piece of kombu,

Bragg All Purpose Liquid Soy Seasoning (now called Liquid Aminos) to taste (approx 3tbs per pound)

1/4 tsp of dried whole Epazote per pound of dry beans

8. Continue cooking for about another half to full hour depending on the desired texture of your beans.

I use the kombu and liquid aminos to add depth of flavour that doesn't mask the taste of the beans but rather compliments and elevates them. Adding the salt at the end really allows the beans to soak up water but remain soft skinned. They also don't break apart as easily.





  








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## ordo (Mar 19, 2009)

*Butter beans appetizer*





  








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Mar 19, 2014








Simmered in veg stock butter beans, raw garlic, raw red pepper, parsley, EVOO.


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## koukouvagia (Apr 3, 2008)

ordo said:


> *Butter beans appetizer*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


So fresh and beautiful, this is my kind of cooking. Olive oil IS a condiment as far as I'm concerned.


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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

A minestra of small red bean, onion, carrot, celery, squash, green beans, pasta seasoned mostly with fresh basil, but also a little dried oregano.

Drizzle of good spanish oil, some grated parmesan and crusty bread.





  








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## french fries (Sep 5, 2008)

I made those in homage to my grand-mother who always had them ready for us to nibble on before the meal (a national sport called "Apéritif" in France - which is also an occasion for adults to start drinking before the meal).

*Fried fava beans:*

- Dried fava beans

- Oil (for frying)

- Salt and Pepper

1) Soak dried fava beans in water for a day or two (they should plump up nicely). Before/after:





  








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2) Peel fava beans (be patient, it's a labor of love):





  








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3) Fry in oil for a few minutes, then season with S&P right away:





  








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4) Serve before a meal, as you would roasted/salted peanuts for example. Enjoy! /img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif





  








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## ordo (Mar 19, 2009)

Nice FF. I'll try them.


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## oldschool1982 (Jun 27, 2006)

Those Fried Fava beans take me back. Granted not the same bean but same method..........I remember while growing up in the Chicago area going to many of the yearly Italian Feasts/carnivals in Melrose Park, Blue Island and Roseland. They would have a cart serving Ceci Frito or fried chickpeas. That was one of mine and my Fathers favorite snacks.


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## french fries (Sep 5, 2008)

ordo said:


> Nice FF. I'll try them.


Thanks. BTW your simple butter bean appetizer looks beautiful. It reminds me of an appetizer we used to get here from a Greek restaurant. 


oldschool1982 said:


> Those Fried Fava beans take me back. Granted not the same bean but same method.


Oh yeah my grandmother also made the fried chickpeas. I'll get to those next!! )


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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

I had to share this hummus presentation from CNN on heart healthy foods.





  








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## french fries (Sep 5, 2008)

phatch said:


> I had to share this hummus presentation from CNN on heart healthy foods.


Nice presentation there phatch. Never seen hummus plated like that before.


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## jonpaul (Jan 5, 2014)

sour mango,cucumber,rice vermicelli,pomegranate,chilli & peanut salad with vietnamese beef.i dressed the salad with white balsamico condiment...the sweet & sour of the balsamico worked a treat with the other salad ingredients & the roasted peanuts gave it a great texture.the beef was thin cut,28 day dry aged aberdeen angus sirloin marinaded in fish sauce,lime juice,sugar,chilli & garlic.





  








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## oldschool1982 (Jun 27, 2006)

Phatch, that was a very unique and impressive presentation. Never seen that before but then again, I don't eat a great deal of hummus when we go to restaurants that serve it. Looked like you were losing the bowl, hope you didn't.

JP, very nice! Great post!

Time was tight yesterday since I had our Lodge Senior Citizens Lunch from 11-1:30, a meeting in the evening and the always present swim practice. That being said, I had to fore-go the documentation of everything to save time. It was a simple, light meal that could be reheated easily and fit into the schedule we all needed to keep. Plus, thinking there was plenty of food, I went about things believing there would be some remaining for me to photograph today but............our swimming/eating machine daughter came home last night and....to paraphrase what I was told.....she was "staaaaaaarrrrrrrving!" /img/vbsmilies/smilies/rollsmile.gif

For the record it was 8pcs of grilled, marinated chicken served on a bed of what I call confetti curry couscous with a side of grilled zucchini.

The chicken marinade is a blend of fresh chopped basil, thyme, rosemary and oregano with olive oil, lemon juice, salt & pepper and a little water. This is my long-time, go-to Mediterranean based marinade and can be used for just about any protein. Over the years I have used it on beef, pork, lamb and shrimp. It can be made in bulk and any unused, remaining product will last for a few weeks when portioned into mason jars and refrigerated. For this meal, I marinated the chicken for 1-2 days. Also, I'll sometimes use boneless chicken thighs and make skewers for the meal.

The couscous consists of 2 cups of raw couscous, 1/4 cup diced red onion, 1/2 cup of just the flowers of the broccoli (not florets but also not chopped), 1/3 cup pink lentils and 1/4 cup chopped, roasted tomatoes stirred in with 2Tbsp of olive oil and 2 cups boiling chicken stock seasoned with 2 tsp of curry. I add the "color" ingredients just seconds prior the raw couscous so the idea is to just flash cook all the additional ingredients while the couscous steeps and absorbs the liquid. All the flavors remain separate with a slight blend and the lentils retain most of their color and become al dente and take on a very nice, nutty almost fresh "pea like" flavor also offering a contrast texture. I've used the same side for many grilled meals and have also taken left-over meats and/or veggies and tossed it all together making a "bowl" type meal.

The zucchini is simply, cleaned and halved and quartered, drizzled "meat-side" with olive oil, a sprinkle of coarse sea salt, fresh ground pepper and grilled.

Anyhow, when I arrived home around 10pm, just the couscous remained for me and I had to scrounge to find a piece of left-over hot Italian sausage for my own dinner. I swear, she's usually good for maybe 2pcs of chicken but for some reason........I can just picture the DW fighting the DD tooth and nail for a single piece of chicken for her own dinner. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/lol.gif

I'm planning the meal again before the end of the month and I'm planning to provide pictures then.


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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

oldschool1982 said:


> Phatch, that was a very unique and impressive presentation. Never seen that before but then again, I don't eat a great deal of hummus when we go to restaurants that serve it. Looked like you were losing the bowl, hope you didn't.


That's not me, that's CNN.com. I thought the same thing when I saw it.


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## oldschool1982 (Jun 27, 2006)

phatch said:


> That's not me, that's CNN.com. I thought the same thing when I saw it.


Took it as you saw it on CNN and decided to re-create it.

I was going to ask why you chose to use whole chick peas in the "bowls" instead of things like roasted red peppers, chopped olives, raw veggies, etc. But since it wasn't you, I won't ask.


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## french fries (Sep 5, 2008)

oldschool1982 said:


> I was going to ask why you chose to use whole chick peas in the "bowls" instead of things like roasted red peppers, chopped olives, raw veggies, etc.


I think you're right, any of those choices you mentioned would work better than chick peas. I like the roasted red peppers idea, the color would work beautifully, maybe with a little bit of parsley or cilantro...


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## french fries (Sep 5, 2008)

butzy said:


> There was another spring roll, but that one opened a bit when I put it in the oil, so it got a bit of a weird shape.
> 
> I suppose I should have sealed the packages with a bit of flour and water.
> 
> All in all not too bad for a first attempt /img/vbsmilies/smilies/chef.gif


Not bad at all @butzy!! You know what's funny? I was scrolling this page UP, so when I came to those pictures I didn't know who posted them, but right away, I knew it was you! Hahaha.. it's true. Anyway great job. I'm a big fan of Nems/Cha Gio. I've made them several times. I wouldn't use flour to seal the rice paper, just water should do the trick. To avoid them opening and becoming shapeless in the oil (which is fairly common at first), I recommend you don't get your oil too hot. Also I don't deep fry, I shallow fry: the oil comes up between 1/2 to 3/4 of the height of the roll. And since the oil is hotter in the center of the pan I always add new rolls from the side of the pan, pushing the older ones to the center, and removing the center one first.

When rolling I also recommend spending the time to roll them tight, making sure there's no air bubble trapped in the rice paper as much as possible (it's impossible to have them perfect but the less air inside, the less chance of the rolls bursting).

It's funny that you made two rolls. I usually make 50 or so (but smaller ones) in one batch. I don't think I'd have the motivation to get the whole process started just for two rolls! But they definitely taste better fresh out of the oil. With lettuce, mint, and some Nước chấm, yum! /img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif


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## michaelga (Jan 30, 2012)

Unless the chickpeas were marinated they wouldn't likely be used, normally it would be; roasted peppers (hot and sweet - seperately), pickled turnip, marinated diced onion, dhukkah & olive oil, fine chopped parsely & tomato's, diced roasted eggplant, pickled gherkins and salted diced cucumbers.


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## french fries (Sep 5, 2008)

.... or pieces of grilled/toasted pita bread.


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## michaelga (Jan 30, 2012)

French Fries said:


> .... or pieces of grilled/toasted pita bread.


actually that is your plate and utensils!

/img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif

and they would get soggy sitting in the hummus.

Quite often it's serve on two big platters - one withe the flat bread and the other with the cups full of accompanyment.


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## butzy (Jan 8, 2010)

French Fries said:


> It's funny that you made two rolls.


Yeah, I would not normally just make 2, but this was a trial run and as far as I am concerned well worth it.

Thanks for all your tips!

Could you actually freeze them unfried and then deep fry from frozen?

I had some mince left and some bean sprouts as well, so decided on a different dish with almost the same ingredients.

Disclaimer: apologies for the poor picture quality. My camera bummed out and I used an old cell phone





  








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The ingredients:

garlic, beef mince, chili's, ginger, fish sauce, bean sprouts and some lime leaves (and eggs and a tomato, they didn't want to be in the picture)





  








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Fried the filling first and then added it to the egg mixture





  








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The end result: SE Asian style omelet with a slice of rye bread (nothing wrong with fusion in my book)


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## jonpaul (Jan 5, 2014)

cooked this one up last night.sausages & lentils with smoked pancetta,mixed mushrooms & griddled ciabatta.firstly the sosso's.as it says on the pack "heck!we do damn good sausages" & they certainly do...coarse cut 97% free range british pork shoulder.the 3% is just seasoning,no fillers,binders or stretchers...sosso's that "snap" when you cut them.the lentils.i like puy lentils.no need to pre soak or pre boil.just rinse & simmer for 20 mins for an al dente texture & nutty flavour.the short cooking time means the other ingredients don't over-cook.the mushrooms.new line at tesco.frozen mix of button,shitake & nameko.fabulous!.cook from frozen,great texture & flavour.wouldn't know they weren't fresh,once cooked.only £1/$1.50 a pop,so i'll defo keep a couple of packs in the freezer.browned the bangers in a little evoo,rendered the pancetta,in with the diced veg,after a couple of mins in with the mushrooms,lentils,turn to coat everything with flavoured oil,in with the fresh bay leaves,lemon thyme leaves,stock,smoked maldon sea salt,malabar pepper for some heat,sosso's back in,lid on & simmer for 20-25 mins.simples!!deeeelish,the smoked sea salt & pancetta really gave everything a smokey flavour & the malabar pepper hit just the right level of warmth....oh boy/img/vbsmilies/smilies/licklips.gif!





  








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## chrisbelgium (Oct 2, 2010)

butzy said:


> 5 - omelet.jpg
> 
> 
> 
> ...


My kind of food! And a lovely picture if you asked me.


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## chrisbelgium (Oct 2, 2010)

*Lamb cassoulet with chermoula*





  








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I didn't know how to call this improvised dish, but it's very inspired on a classic lamb cassoulet. I added a chermoula, kind of a Moroccan pesto.

All components were cooked separately, then assembled and finished in the oven.





  








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There are grosso modo 4 major components in this dish; beans, a tomato sauce, a thick slice of lamb leg (gigot) and chermoula.

- beans; soak overnight in cold water. Cook in ample fresh water for 60 minutes but leave to cool in the cooking water until needed. Add salt at the very end of the cooking time.

- tomato sauce; onion, carrot, celery, garlic and... these fresh San Marzano tomatoes that I found, grown in my very own country!! Yep, greenhouse stuff, but what a stunning quality. Let it all cook until nicely thickened and full of flavor. Takes around an hour. Add needed quantity of this tomato sauce to the drained beans.

- meat; gigot, colored on all sides, then covered and braised for an hour.

- chermoula; fresh cilantro (leaves and stalks), garlic, olive oil, salt & pepper, powdered dried lemon (use fresh juice alternatively). Blitz into kind of a pesto substance. Add parcely and other spices too if wanted. Cilantro is a must but there are numerous variations on chermoula.

Fill an oven dish with the bean mixture and lay the meat on top. Let cook in the oven at 180°C for nearly another hour. Time to eat! Could be served in a tagine on your next Moroccan inspired dinner party... One of the tastiest dishes I ever made.





  








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Edit; forgot to mention there's a little harissa (North-African chili and garlic paste) in the chermoula too.


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## genemachine (Sep 26, 2012)

Lamb and beans... Naturally. A marriage made in heaven.


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## chrisbelgium (Oct 2, 2010)

Absolutely, Gene! Although my favorite lamb and bean combo is made with (green) flageolet beans. Wish I could find them.


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## genemachine (Sep 26, 2012)

I can get dried as well as canned flageolet beans at my local Asian supermarket. Perhaps have a look there?


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## french fries (Sep 5, 2008)

GeneMachine said:


> I can get dried as well as canned flageolet beans at my local Asian supermarket. Perhaps have a look there?


I doubt Chris will find an Asian supermarket in Belgium, but maybe I'm wrong.

@ChrisBelgium, I'm surprised you can't find flageolets in Belgium - we find them here in California in some supermarkets. Surprising huh?


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## oregonyeti (Jun 16, 2007)

I don't have any photos for this, but I have lately been making "Dwight's Spicy Black Bean Burgers" by Steve Petusevsky, with my variations. They are really really good. I almost think I couldn't tire of them, but I make sure to not have them too often.


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## teamfat (Nov 5, 2007)

Hardly a contender for the month's top dish, but it is one of my favorite ways to prepare lentils.

*The Players*





  








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Some basic lentils, they've been boiled, rinsed with cold water, now draining.





  








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Salami, pepperoni, sweet red peppers and some very fresh green onions just moments out of the garden. I did wash them before using. Some sliced black olives were also involved.





  








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Grated parm, balsamic, garlic, fresh basil and olive oil.

*The Procedure*





  








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The meat and veggies have been diced up and mixed into the lentils.





  








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The parmesan vinaigrette is looking, and tasting, just about right. Into the red bowl it goes.

*The Product*

I got a bit impatient, didn't wait for the chicken thighs on the grill for this last picture. But the meal did include a sandwich with the chicken, swiss cheese, mayo, pickles, etc.





  








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No culinary breakthrough, but I do like a good lentil salad.


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## chrisbelgium (Oct 2, 2010)

GeneMachine said:


> I can get dried as well as canned flageolet beans at my local Asian supermarket. Perhaps have a look there?


Canned flageolets are no problem, the dried ones are. Indeed, the local etnic market might be the source for me.


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## genemachine (Sep 26, 2012)

ChrisBelgium said:


> Canned flageolets are no problem, the dried ones are. Indeed, the local etnic market might be the source for me.



Amazon.de has some marketplace dealers that offer them, too.


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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

I used some dry beans as weights in blind baking a pie crust last night for a broccoli quiche this AM. Didn't snap a picture though and it really wasn't a bean dish itself.


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## teamfat (Nov 5, 2007)

Thanks for the chuckle!


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## chrisbelgium (Oct 2, 2010)

GeneMachine said:


> Amazon.de has some marketplace dealers that offer them, too.


Thanks for that link Gene! Just what I needed.


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## french fries (Sep 5, 2008)

I made a salad with chick peas, eggs, red bell peppers, tomatoes, cornichons, cucumbers, avocados, scallions, croutons, & Comté:





  








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## jonpaul (Jan 5, 2014)

hmmmm,all the chat about flageolet beans & lamb got me thinking.one of my favourite's too,chris.dinner tonight was,surprise surprise,lamb & beans!welsh mountain lamb shoulder shanks from bethesda,french flageolet beans,creme fraiche d'isigny made with the milk of normandy cattle grazed on salt marshes,rosemary,thyme,baby fennel,a bit of stock,smoked maldon sea salt & lotsa,lotsa garlic!chilled labrune et fils pinot noir/img/vbsmilies/smilies/licklips.gif!





  








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## everydaygourmet (Apr 4, 2012)

JonPaul said:


> ok,so we are almost half way through the month & we've already had some fabulous dishes & stunning photography,posted!but,this is a marathon,not a sprint & i'm sure everyone has got some ideas/dishes "up their sleeves" & a few in reserve.still waiting for boston baked beans(c'mon america!),cassoulet(bet chrisb does a good one) & insalata di tonno,cipolla e fagioli.have you noticed how some real stunners always hit the challenges on the last day,tactics,tactics/img/vbsmilies/smilies/wink.gif??? bit like an ebay auction with 10 seconds to go....me pulse(s) is racing at the thought...pulses...beans...gettit?bad eh/img/vbsmilies/smilies/rolleyes.gif?!here's one from a while back.octopus stew with chick peas(garbanzo beans)in roasted red pepper/tomato sauce that i had left over from another dish.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


JonPaul,

btw, beautiful use of octopus, Spanish dish?, the roasted red pepper makes me think of Romesco.

Made "moin-moin" for new year's 2014, sadly no pics, may have to fix that. Apologies for the repost.

EDG

post #21 of 162 3/2/14 am





  








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Inslata Di Fagioli e Tonno

with tuna belly house smoked salmon, cranberry, cannelli beans, capers, chick peas, dash of white balsamic & high quality fish sauce, and 1 white anchovy for the marinade

Cheers!

EDG


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## jonpaul (Jan 5, 2014)

EverydayGourmet said:


> JonPaul,
> 
> btw, beautiful use of octopus, Spanish dish?, the roasted red pepper makes me think of Romesco.
> 
> ...


correct!the spanish love their octopus & my dish was "galician inspired".they also serve octopus simply boiled then drizzled with evoo,dusted with smoked paprika & eaten with boiled potatoes/img/vbsmilies/smilies/licklips.gif!good lookin' insalata by the way!!


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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

I've been looking at different ful madamas recipes the last while. Anyone have a good version they want to share?


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## jonpaul (Jan 5, 2014)

phatch said:


> I've been looking at different ful madamas recipes the last while. Anyone have a good version they want to share?


hey phatch!one of my all time fav's when i'm in egypt.sometimes i just use broad(fava)beans,sometimes a mix of fava & chick(garbanzo)peas.i boil the beans with a couple of fat garlic cloves in chicken stock.drain & reserve some of the cooking liquor.pass the beans/garlic through a potato ricer or mash with a fork if you like a coarser texture.roast & grind some cumin seeds & mix into the bean/garlic mash.add some preserved lemon paste(or juice if you haven't got the paste) & cooking liquor til you get the right consistency.the chicken stock is usually salty enough but you can up that with a bit more salt if you want,particularly if using lemon juice.the paste is salty enough,i find.

cover & leave for a couple of hours at room temp for the flavours to mingle.i like a glug or two of good evoo on top.just before serving.works for me!


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## koukouvagia (Apr 3, 2008)

French Fries said:


> I made a salad with chick peas, eggs, red bell peppers, tomatoes, cornichons, cucumbers, avocados, scallions, croutons, & Comté:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Wow!!


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## oldschool1982 (Jun 27, 2006)

As explained in another thread, dinner for me was shredded chicken and bean relleno's with my version of ranchero sauce. This is a very low carb/fat version of my favorite of all Tex Mex foods. I would really have loved to made these the traditional way but it is what it is.

I had already started the chicken but these are some of the ingredients of the whole meal; Tomatoes and Chilies, cooked pinto beans, Cotija Cheese, Poblano Peppers, Monterrey Jack Cheese and Cilantro. Not pictured are two slices of bacon, diced onion, two chicken thighs, ground Hatch Red Chilies, fresh ground cumin, chicken stock, fresh thyme and fresh oregano. This is a no oil dish so all the bacon fat is rendered off and removed. Everything goes in the pot at the same time and simmers. Beans are also added at different stages so some are completely cooked and other have their appearance intact. The Poblano Peppers have been fire-roasted over the burner and peeled just prior to this picture.





  








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The bacon has already been rendered and all ingredients (except cheeses and half of the amount of cilantro) are simmering. There was approx. 45 minutes of cook time remaining and I added an 1/8 cup of Brown Texmati rice at this point to help with the texture and body. I would've liked for it to have been more but had to limit the amount.





  








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Here are the peppers cleaned, seeded and ready for stuffing





  








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Ranchero sauce is pictured here. I had a base of this made ahead of time from dinner the other night. It's basically a mix of sliced peppers, onion, celery and tomatoes. I added the remaining tomatoes and chilies in addition to chicken stock and cilantro. Because it's low fat, it gets thickened with a slurry just before use.





  








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Below if the chicken mix after it has been cooked and cooled. The Cotija cheese is crumbled and added to the mix.





  








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The Peppers are then stuffed and placed in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes. The one thing that's missed in the picture is the actual appearance of the filling. There is a good mix throughout of the Cotija cheese and you can see the chunks of chicken as well as whole beans.





  








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The peppers are removed from the oven and topped with the ranchero sauce and shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese and placed back in the oven to melt the cheese.





  








Shredded Chicken Relleno 007.JPG




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oldschool1982


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Mar 28, 2014








This is the final presentation. You really get an effect of refried beans with the chicken almost what you would in a burrito. The pepper had some great flavor and the heat would suggest it came from a drier than normal growth area. I did enjoy this very much. and had only one for dinner The other was saved for a meal later this weekend.





  








Shredded Chicken Relleno 008.JPG




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oldschool1982


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Mar 28, 2014


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## french fries (Sep 5, 2008)

Koukouvagia said:


> Wow!!


Thanks! It was delicious! /img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif

@oldschool1982 those chile rellenos look delicious. I should try your recipe sometime.


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## oldschool1982 (Jun 27, 2006)

French Fries said:


> Thanks! It was delicious! /img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif
> 
> @oldschool1982 those chile rellenos look delicious. I should try your recipe sometime.


Thanks FF!

There was a good amount of heat from the Hatch red Chilies. We bought a large string of them several years ago on a trip to Tucson and they have served me well. You can change the temp to your liking and also add more cheese. I would suggest that if you don't need to worry about things associated. Infact, shredded beef chuck roast or brisket would be a great sub for the chicken.

Your salad was great looking as well. For me, it had a real light and fresh appearance plus I could totally imagine its flavor and texture. That'll definitely be something to try when we need to break from the norm this summer. Might have to cut back or eliminate the egg though. Plus, I don't know where I'll get the Comté. I've not seen it since I can't remember when and we've run the gamut here (Richmond, Va area) as far as specialty shops are concerned for so many other things we've seen in other places we've lived.


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## oregonyeti (Jun 16, 2007)

(TJ's here has Comté)


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## oldschool1982 (Jun 27, 2006)

TJ's....haven't checked there yet but I will. Unfortunately it's a 40 mile hike and have only been there once. Thanks a bunch!


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## french fries (Sep 5, 2008)

TJ's Comté is actually rather weak - not much taste - like most of their cheeses to be honest, unfortunately.

This salad was completely improvised, so just mix the ingredients that inspire you. If you can't find Comté then maybe use Sharp cheddar instead. If you can't find chorizo you can use ham or canadian bacon... or nothing!! You get the idea.


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## chicagoterry (Apr 3, 2012)

Don't overthink the ful medames.

Basically, it is fava beans, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper and cumin. Some people sprinkle it with chili flakes. Mash up the beans with some of their liquid to get the consistency you want.

It's best with a drizzle of fruity olive oil and chopped up flat-leaf parsley and a hard boiled egg on top.

When I worked at a very fancy Lebanese restaurant in Suburban Detroit, we used canned beans and none of the largely Middle-Eastern customers ever complained.


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## koukouvagia (Apr 3, 2008)

Oldschool those look so tasty!! I see in a picture you put your plate directly in the oven, what kind of plate is that is it ovenproof?


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## teamfat (Nov 5, 2007)

Hmm.  Last day of March.  Wonder who will be selected as the next host?  I've got my top three in mind.  Wonder what the next theme will be?

mjb.


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## oregonyeti (Jun 16, 2007)

French Fries said:


> TJ's Comté is actually rather weak - not much taste - like most of their cheeses to be honest, unfortunately.


I tried their comte and I wasn't impressed, but I don't know that kind of cheese so I wasn't going to say it was good or not good. I do like TJ's manchego anejo a lot.


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## french fries (Sep 5, 2008)

A simple dish of lentils with chicken livers, garlic, parsley and chili.





  








liver.JPG




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french fries


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Apr 1, 2014











  








lentils.JPG




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french fries


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Apr 1, 2014


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## oldschool1982 (Jun 27, 2006)

Koukouvagia said:


> Oldschool those look so tasty!! I see in a picture you put your plate directly in the oven, what kind of plate is that is it ovenproof?


KK,

Thanks! The DD chose a line from Pottery Barn called "Great White". It doesn't have "oven safe" printed on the bottom but the oven was not in full heat mode. The oven is the GE Profile Dbl Convection and always use the broiler or convection roast setting. The plate is also positioned on one of the lower rack positions. We've had the plates for 8 years now with no "accidents" and I figure the sanitize setting of our dishwasher heats the plate to a higher temp so there shouldn't be an issue.


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## jonpaul (Jan 5, 2014)

French Fries said:


> A simple dish of lentils with chicken livers, garlic, parsley and chili.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


sooo,first things first.i've checked "on't t'interweb" as we say in lancashire and,as far as i can see,everyone is now on 1st april.when i left my apartment at 10:00am this morning some parts of the states were still comfortably in march.time difference made even worse by the uk's bloody silly & archaic idea of putting the clocks forward an hour last sunday.spring forward,fall back they say,well,i've got news for you....apparently loads of brits suffer from "spring lag",the latest affliction,just like "jet lag" only the sufferer can take up to three weeks to recover....."spring lag"?,i just calls 'em lazy b*ggers!!right,rant over,back to the challenge('bout bleedin' time i hear you mutter)*this month's winner is..da de de dahhhh..FRENCH FRIES*/img/vbsmilies/smilies/thumb.gif/img/vbsmilies/smilies/bounce.gif/img/vbsmilies/smilies/drinkbeer.gif/img/vbsmilies/smilies/smoking.gif!!well,done frenchie,you played a blinder with your last minute(tactical/img/vbsmilies/smilies/wink.gif!)post of chicken livers & lentils.there have been some imaginative,inventive & stunning entries,once again,this month.everything from chris's chili con carne & fresh bean dish,butzy's egg/peanut sauce,abaff's abstract "picasso on a plate",eastie's pakora's,frenchie's fried fava's through to ordo's almost ethereal tofu,pork & hummus dishes...(and anyone else i haven't mentioned)....once again demonstrating the sheer amount of talent & ability out there.everyone should be extremely proud...no losers,all winners!.

i have to say that when i saw ordo's hummus i thought"that's the winner"not only was the dish stunning,it reminded me of one of those glorious deep space hubble telescope photo's of a spiral galaxy(take another look then google image spiral galaxies)but it also encapsulates how a few simple ingredients can be made into something both delicious & beautiful.then frenchie posted his dish and,i have to say,not only does it look "the business" but,i thought to myself,of all of the dishes posted,including my own,which would i want to eat right now....i could just taste those livers & lentils,all garlicky & with a bit of heat from the chili.the other factor was that i bought a pack of fresh chicken livers last week with the intention of cooking them with puy lentils,but ended up chucking them in the freezer,'cos i got side tracked by some sausages!jobsa good 'un,well done mate....a worthy winner!!

so french fries,i pass the baton to you,to choose the next challenge...good luck to one & all!


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## michaelga (Jan 30, 2012)

Congrats FF!

...please not spam... please


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## kaneohegirlinaz (Apr 24, 2011)

félicitations @French Fries


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## french fries (Sep 5, 2008)




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## genemachine (Sep 26, 2012)

Well done, well done! Also, I second Michael there


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## teamfat (Nov 5, 2007)

I've had a hankering for chicken livers for a few days, that last post didn't help.  The guy at the meat counter said they should be getting some soon.

Good job, everyone!

mjb.

ps:  If I were choosing the theme, it would be a tossup among an ingredient, a technique and a location.


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## ordo (Mar 19, 2009)

Excellent winner!

Let's see what's next.


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## koukouvagia (Apr 3, 2008)

And the home cook brings it in for the win congrats FF!!


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## genemachine (Sep 26, 2012)

We got it running for a whole year now, by the way! So congratulations not only to the winner of this round, but to everyone who helped to keep it going and to make it a fun and educational experience! Great job, everyone!


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