Brothy White Beans
Back at it with #quarantinecooking - making delicious bulk meals with pantry staples. Spooning these lemony-herby beans over garlicky-grilled bread is absolute heaven! This recipe is designed to make enough for multiple meals, use mostly pantry-staples & shelf-stable items, & be simple enough to allow for variations based on what you have available. It's bright, comforting, and delicious!
Prep Time: 8 hours 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 9 hours 30 minutes
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
2 cups dried Great Northern Beans
4 cups water
12 cups chicken broth - I used homemade bone broth from reserved chicken bones
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, diced small
6 stalks celery, cut in 1.5 inch pieces
1 tbsp thyme
1 lemon, juiced
celery greens & dill, chopped for garnish
1 loaf crusty bread, sliced 1 inch thick - I used baguette
3 garlic cloves, halved
salt and pepper to taste
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Directions:
Pour beans into a large container with water and cover with a lid for 8 hours or until easily mashed between to fingers. After the beans have soaked, drain them and set aside.
In a large stockpot, add 3 tbsp oil and onion over low-medium heat. Saute until softened - do not brown.
Add celery, thyme, and lemon juice - continue to saute until celery is beginning to soften.
Add beans and 6 cups of broth. Increase the heat to medium and stir occasionally until nearly all the broth has soaked into the beans.
Add final 6 cups of broth & gently mash 1/4 of the beans into the broth. Turn to low and allow to simmer for 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Your broth should be thick and coating the beans. If it's too watery, continue simmering and mashing.
Prepare your bread, heating the remaining 3 tbsp oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Place the bread in the pan, until golden. Remove from the pan and rub aggressively with the garlic cloves until fully coated and scented with garlic.
Fill a shallow bowl with the brothy beans, top with fresh dill, celery greens, the grilled bread, and an additional squeeze of lemon juice if desired.
Tip* Freeze remainders to extend shelf life and/or use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth
