Beans! - Interview With Cresent Dragonwagon, And Cannellini Beans With Red Pepper And Rapini

Ben sent this interview with Cresent Dragonwagon:

The World Of Beans

The woman loves her beans! She's bean-infectious.

The interview is about 45 minutes. I listened while cooking, and eating, the stuff of that photo. It's a bean soup, some type of which I eat every day. I usually make a big pot and tap it while working, thus the small half-eaten bowl.

This was made with cannellini beans. I cook them to a paste and store in the fridge so they're available for soups. Here I lightly simmered, really just blanched for a minute or two:

• Onions
• Leeks
• Mushrooms
• Red bell pepper
• Cauliflower

Then added and heated for 1 minute:

• Green beans (frozen)
• Broccoli rabe (aka rapini, a leftover from a batch-cook)

Then added and stirred until it came to a simmer:

• Cannellini beans
• Tomato sauce (not much, couple tablespoons)
• Tamari (couple teaspoons)

While it's cooling I add spices. Done. Assembling the soup after the beans were previously cooked lets me keep vegetables colorful and crunchy. The red bell pepper and rapini add zing. I like some ancho chili or smoked paprika in the end.

Here's the podcast:
http://audio.wbur.org/storage/2012/02/onpoint_0216_2.mp3

Or, here's my attempt at embed:


________Thanks, Ben. I'm going to be on the lookout for her book.