Self-isolation: Beans for breakfast, lunch and dinner?
Once upon a time most households relied on a cauldron bubbling over coals or a fire that slow cooked beans.
Busy people need to eat
Self-isolation: Beans for breakfast, lunch and dinner?
Once upon a time most households relied on a cauldron bubbling over coals or a fire that slow cooked beans.
Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold,
Peas porridge in the pot, nine days old;
Some like it hot, some like it cold,
Some like it in the pot, nine days old.
- Nursery Rhyme
During these times of self-isolation with three kids in various stages of ignoring me, crying over having to write letters from a school assignment, or being chased around the house as she pulls all the things from all the cupboards — I have fallen back on relying on the slow cook pot for nutritious meals.
I had a surprising reminder of the versatility of the bean stew. Here’s a recipe:
- 200 g white navy beans (soaked, rinsed several times, overnight)
- 2 large carrots chopped
- 1 large onion (or 2 small) chopped
- 1 Bay leaf
- 250 g chopped sausage (or a variety of bacon/sausage/meat of choice)
- 1/2 to 1 can of diced tomatoes (or about 4 large plum tomatoes chopped)
- 2 stock cubes (or equivalent liquid soup stock)
- A scattering of fresh herbs from the garden (or dried): a parsley, thyme, and sage combo works well in this recipe but so does a cumin, coriander, and ginger combo
- Optionally add any other random vegetables you would want to add (e.g. root veggies, strong leafy greens like collard greens or kale, celery and leeks)
Start your beans bubbling with the vegetable ingredients and cook for roughly 45 minutes before adding the meat ingredients. Then slow cook for as long as the liquid lasts.
This dish is the grand daddy of your beans and toast that would normally require opening a can to eat at breakfast. It’s also great with tortilla shells and cheese (guacamole and sour cream if available). It’s wonderful with pasta or rice. The recipe makes enough to feed a family of 5 every other day for a week. A bonus is that it is high in protein, high in fiber, and relatively low on carbohydrates and fat for those of a diet sensitive persuasion.
Most importantly, the prep time is minimal, the cook time is long but in the meantime you can get back to finishing your work for your deadline while shouting to your kids to keep the noise level down knowing that there will be food on the table when it comes to mealtime.
