Another bean, another day.
A well-stocked pantry always comes in handy. That’s what happened when I made
’s marinated butter beans for two back-to-back lunches. And as you already know, we live for a good leftover that frankly is better the second time around.I’ve already written about my love affair with canned beans of all shapes and sizes. But this bean salad combines the Holy canned butter beans with other things that are equally as good: Artichoke hearts, onion, green olives, lemon, AND DILL! Heating the marinade briefly in a skillet before pouring it over everything gives all of the flavors a chance to mingle before the beans get a quick marinade.
Just like wine and other good things, this salad benefits from a little time to let the flavors and juices meld and pool together. I made it in the morning and simply let it hang before lunch time.
A piece of crispy (or if you’re like me, a crisp that borders on burnt) sourdough bread is this salad’s BFF. I also slathered some ricotta cheese on my toast and added shaved parm on top because:
a. Ricotta is creamy, delicious, and pulls everything together.
b. Who ever said no to parm?
c. I’m not a monster.
Fair warning that spooning this salad on bread is a fork-and-knife situation.
She’s truly a stunner and reminds me of a dish that would absolutely cost $15 (and one that I would happily pay for) at local Brooklyn restaurants like Cafe Mado and Agi’s Counter.
This bean salad is low effort, high payoff. And after months and months of hearty bean soups and stews, these beans are the faintest reminder that spring, life, and the return of produce is in sight.
Honestly, this would also make a solid dinner. Maybe with a glass of the crispiest orange wine.
I used up the rest of the artichoke hearts and olives later to make a crispy chickpea salad because why not?!
I’m on the fence about Bon Appétit’s video strategy. Over the past year or so, the publication’s YouTube videos have heavily shifted away from recipes aimed at home cooks to videos spotlighting hot restaurants and chefs. Yes, it’s interesting to watch how something special at a great restaurant is made (especially with how expensive food is these days and what a treat going out to eat is for people). But also, I miss the test kitchen and watching videos for things that I can actually make in my own kitchen!
Regardless, this video spotlighting the crispy lasagna at Rolo’s in Queens is fun. It also immediately makes me want to book a reservation, so mission accomplished.
As a general rule, I don’t do single-use kitchen gadgets.
A garlic press? Nah. Cherry pitters? No way. Those clear boxes that chop vegetables into perfectly homogeneous pieces? Never—also what a nightmare to clean!
Which is why I regret to say that I have fallen in love with a rice cooker.
After years of unsuccessfully making a pot of rice on the stove no matter how many tips I tried, I stopped making rice altogether.
So when I saw that this rice cooker with oodles of great reviews went on sale in January, I pulled the trigger.
But I live in a shoebox and therefore had to carve out a dedicated space with a 10-inch radius in my deepest kitchen cabinet. This required pulling everything out and reorganizing the entire cabinet in a very specific way that only I know how to replicate. Yes, I fear I am one step closer to becoming Monica Geller.
But the good news is that I can now make perfect rice! Every! Single! Time!
I’m a jasmine rice girl for most things. I usually start making a pot while prepping the rest of dinner (like I did with this recent stir-fry from NYT Cooking), and there’s also a feature on the cooker that keeps rice warm if I need more time.
Next up I want to test out this baby for more than cooking plain rice. Like perhaps trying this risotto from Bon Appétit.
See ya next week!
ah made my day seeing this!!! totally agree that letting it sit for a bit makes it even better