Cajun Skillet Beans

[GayeC]

I made this recipe, which was posted by KValley in December on the "Needing inspiration for tasty meatless dishes...." thread, last night. It was very good and made me feel extremely healthy (lots of veggies and beans!). The sauce has a very good flavor from a combination of molasses and Dijon mustard. I will definitely make this again. The only change I will make is to use smaller beans (probably cannellini) next time. The butter beans were a bit large for me.

Gaye

[Alisa]

Here's the Recipe....

Cajun Skillet Beans
from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home

Servings 6
Total Time 20 minutes
Similar in taste to the pungent, cooked-forever beans found in Southern barbecue joints, this attractive, colorful dish can prbably be made even faster if you put some zydeco on the hi-fi while you cook

1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced or presses
2 tablespoopns vegetable oil
3 celery stalks (about 1 cup chopped)
2 green or red bell peppers (about 1 1/2 cups chopped)
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme (1/2 teaspoon dried)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil (1 teaspoon dried)
1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano (1/2 teaspoon dried)
1/4 teaspoon groud black pepper (or more to taste)
pinch each cayenne and salt
2 cups chopped fresh or canned tomatoes (14.5 ounce can)
1 tablespoon honey or molasses
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
4 cups cooked black-eyed peas or butter beans (2 10 ounce frozen packages or two
16-ounce cans, drained)
chopped scallions (optional)
grated cheddar cheese (optional)

In a heavy saucepan or skillet, saute the onions and garlic in the oil on medium heat. Chop the celery and bell peppers and add them to the pan. Continue to saute for about five minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the thyme, basil, oregano, black pepper, cayenne, and salt. Cover and cook for five minutes or until the onios are golden, stirring once or twice. Add the tomatoes, honey or molasses, and mustard, and simmer for 5 more minutes. Add the beans, cover, and stir occasionally until thoroughly heated. Canned beans will be hot in less than 10 minutes, but frozen beans need to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

Top with scallions or grated cheese if desired, and serve.

Per 8 oz serving: 200 calories, 10.2 grams protein, 4.5 grams fat; 31.7 grams
carbohydrates

[sunberst]

this is AWESOME! i really liked this, a lot.

i used honey that VictoriaL got me last xmas & some creole dijon mustard i picked up in new orleans. perfect combination of flavors & very addicting!

i used a can of butter beans & a can of black eyes peas. for the peppers, i used a combo of orange & yellow & muir glen tomatoes.

it yielded a little "sauce" from all the ingredients & that was perfect for soaking up with french bread! not a lot of liquid, but enough to make it moist & oh so good.

sorry if i am going on & on, but i really like this.

[Chris415]

I've been on a bean kick for the past few weeks, eating lots of black beans and finally deciding to try this recipe I've had in my notebook for some time.

I made these last night to accompany CL's Desk Set Oven Fried Chicken (in honor of seeing the movie for the umpteenth time). They were great and will make yummy lunches this week. I made a mixture of dried black eyed peas and Great Northern beans, so the recipe took a little bit longer since I had to cook the beans,but canned would do just as well. And I used one green and one red pepper, to make it Christmasy!

Chris

[Chocolate Rose]

I made these last night for dinner and they were GREAT!! We wanted something on the healthy side after all of our indulgences in the last couple of months. When I told dh what we were having, he wasn't at all excited. But, he LOVED them and kept commenting on how great they were.

I subbed dry navy beans for the suggested beans. Just cooked them early in the day. We had it with the Irish Oatmeal Bread (CL Jan/Feb 04) and a green salad. YUM!