The Taste Traveller

rich and nourishing slow cooker beans

Mama's beans, that's what these are - and, in fact, this is a recipe I got from my mom. As with so many of the dishes I make and write about here - I had never made this before! Imagine that! Here I've had this slow cooker for at least five years and no slow cooker beans. Until now. Now I feel like I'm just getting started. It's a recipe I'm quite sure you could tweak here and there (I did a little myself) and there isn't anything ground-breaking about it. It's just super tasty - a deeply flavourful mix of sweet and savoury. It takes your basic beans on toast to a new level, or works well as a side to a mellow dish like baked macaroni and cheese (I tried this combination last week) or chicken and corn on the cob (I'll be trying this combo when our corn season kicks in).

This makes a big batch, which means handy freezer meals in the making! I froze some up in single and double size servings and they really freeze well. 

Here's the recipe with notes as to my modifications. I made a second batch of these yesterday, modifying the recipe to try a milder, more tomato flavoured version. The flavour was just what I was going for. Just don't do what I did and put them on high for the whole afternoon instead of low! I'm fighting a cold and didn't smell the distinctive 'beans stuck to the pot' smell! Anyway, nothing a little water when warming up can't mostly fix and basically they were a success anyway. So, try both versions or pick which one sounds more appealing, but I can tell you that they are both very flavourful. 

Ingredients: 

Version 1

• 1 lb navy beans (dried) (about 2 1/2 cups/625 ml - will make about 5 to 6 cups/1500 ml when soaked and cooked)
• 1 tsp (5 ml) baking soda
• 1/2 lb. of salt pork or bacon (I just used four slices)
• 1 medium onion
• 2 tsp (10 ml)  salt
• 4 tsp (20 ml) cider vinegar
• 3 tsp (15 ml) prepared mustard
• 1/ 4 cup (60 ml) brown sugar packed
• 1/ 2 cup (125 ml) molasses
• 1 /4 cup (60 ml) ketchup
• black pepper to taste
• a can tomato soup (10 oz) I used one small (5.5 fl oz/156 ml) can of tomato paste and a bit of water instead. (I recommend the reduced salt variety)

Version 2 (no bacon, less onion, no ketchup, reduced molasses)

• 1 lb navy beans (dried) (about 2 1/2 cups/625 ml - will make about 5 to 6 cups/1500 ml when soaked and cooked)
• 1 tsp (5 ml) baking soda
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 2 tsp (10 ml)  salt
• 4 tsp (20 ml) cider vinegar
• 3 tsp (15 ml) prepared mustard
• 1/ 4 cup (60 ml) brown sugar, packed
• 1/ 4 cup (125 ml) molasses
• black pepper to taste
• a small can (5.5 fl oz/156 ml) tomato paste (I recommend the reduced salt variety)

Method:

In a large pot or bowl soak the beans overnight in water that is at least 3" above the beans. 

Drain the beans, rinse, and transfer to the crock pot/slow cooker. 

Cover with fresh water. 

Add the baking soda. 

Add the onion, salt and other ingredients.

Cover and cook on the low to medium setting for 8 to 10 hours. 

Stir well and serve or freeze in desired portions. 

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simple cabbage and bean soup (zuppa di cavolo e fagioli cannellini con tagliatelle)

This is the third of my 'Cabbage Series' recipes and is new to me and very different from the other two. It is also another recipe that comes to me from my fellow foodie friend Jenni. I didn't realize until trying these three recipes just how versatile cabbage is. It's also used in the traditional cooking of many countries - which was new information to me too. With these three recipes alone we've 'visited' Ireland, Ukraine (or Hungary, Sweden and others with their versions) and with this soup, Italy. Russia has a traditional soup recipe similar this one as well. This is a comfort soup at it's best - with a mild, buttery flavour and texture, while also having quite a clean simplicity about it. I love soups chock full of ingredients and quite spicy - but this was a refreshing contrast to that. With just a handful of healthy ingredients this is a super easy weeknight meal that you can prepare in just a little over the time it takes to cook the pasta. Of course, if you are going to use dried beans you will have to have this planned a day in advance to allow for the soaking overnight and the extra cooking time for the beans. Although not heavy it's substantial enough and a great vegetarian meal option. It's also a great recipe for kids and babies - my one year old loved it! Try it with different types of pasta too - the egg noodles are perfect with this, but others would work well. 

Ingredients:

• 1 can cannellini beans (white kidney beans). Navy or romano will work too.
• 3 to 4 cups (750 to 1000 ml) chicken broth (vegetable broth will work too. I suggest buying the reduced sodium kind)
• 2 teaspoons (10 ml) salt
• 3 tablespoons (45 ml) butter
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 4 large cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
• 1 lb cabbage (about 1/5 of a fairly large head of cabbage. You need one approximately 10 inches in diameter) 
• 3 to 4 oz of egg noodles (as I wrote above, use whatever you have handy and try different types!)
• freshly grated romano cheese on top

Method:

Add butter to a medium hot saucepan that will be large enough to hold the soup. 

Add the onion and garlic and sauté gently until softened. 

Add the cabbage and continue to cook, slowly, until the cabbage has softened. 

While the onions, garlic and cabbage are cooking, bring the water to cook the pasta in to a rolling boil. Add the salt, then the pasta. 

When the pasta is cooked al dente drain and add to the cabbage, onions and garlic. 

Add the beans and stock. 

Heat to simmering, then add salt and pepper to taste. If you have parsley or another favourite herb that will work with cabbage, add a small amount to the soup at this point. 

Serve immediately and add romano cheese at the table. I'm certain you will love this soup and the romano cheese makes it even better! No romano? Use parmesan instead. This is great with crusty bread or home made garlic bread. A fresh green salad would also be a nice accompaniment. 

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lean turkey and vegetable cabbage rolls

The 'Cabbage Series' continues and it just so happens that this is also the first of several recipes I'm sharing with you that come to me from my good friend Jenni. Now Jenni is one of those people that knows a lot about cooking, more than I do for sure. I've watched and learned from her many times when we lived in London and she'd invite me over for dinner - and since, when I've visited her in Toronto. She's the one that gave me the add the carrot to your chili tip, I remember another time when she poured me a glass of a particular wine (I forget what it was now) and gave me a small piece of raw garlic and suggested I take a small bite of the garlic before a sip of wine as it would really bring out this wine. Now I'm the happy recipient of some of her favourite family recipes. I've done a few things differently (I accidentally didn't double everything when I doubled the recipe, for instance), and look forward to playing around with the recipe as time goes on to put more of my own signature on it. She loosely based this on a Canadian Living Country Cooking recipe. As Jenni does, I doubled everything (well, except the tomatoes!) and had plenty to freeze. I had quite the production going on here. As I didn't double everything my results are likely a little different than Jenni's of course. But, we liked it and you could easily add more or less of the ingredients you like the most. My husband loved how it was a very lean and healthy meal, and my one year old Scarlet liked it too - cabbage and all! 

So, have some fun with this recipe, tweak it how you like, and by all means try doubling the ingredients if you like to have some freezer meals ready to go. 

This will get you started! 

Ingredients:

For the cabbage rolls:

• One large head of cabbage
• 1 cup (250 ml) onion, finely chopped
• 2 to 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup of red or green bell pepper
• 2 lbs ground turkey (or chicken, pork, beef - or a combination of two of these)
• 2 cups (500 ml) cooked rice (I used brown basmati, as does my friend Jenni)
• 4 tablespoons (60 ml) parsely, chopped
• salt and pepper, to taste

To line the pan and place the cabbage rolls on top of:

• 1/2 to 1 large bottle of sauerkraut (or, if you don't like sauerkraut use chicken broth instead)

For the sauce:

• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic (large), finely chopped
• 1/2 cup (125 ml) carrots, shredded or finely chopped
• 2 x 28 oz tins of tomatoes (diced to save on time, but if you prefer to chop them yourself, go for it!)
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) white sugar
• 1/2 cup (125 ml) parsley
• 1 bay leaf (optional)
• Dried basil, oregano (or other favourite spices of yours. Thyme? Rosemary?) to taste
• salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Filling:

Chop the onions, garlic, red/green bell pepper and parsley. (Tip: to save time you could chop the quantity of onion, garlic and parsley you require for the filling and the sauce, then set aside the amounts you require for the sauce)

Heat 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive or vegetable oil in a medium to large frying pan/skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook until the onions are soft.

Add the red/green bell pepper and cook until the peppers are soft, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. 

In the same pan, add the meat and cook until browned. Drain off the excess fat (if any). 

Combine the meat mixture with the onion and pepper mixture. 

Stir in the rice, parsley, salt and pepper. Mix well. Set aside.

This is a good time to put together the sauce. While it's simmering you can prepare the cabbage and the rolls. 

Sauce:

Chop the onions, carrots, garlic and parsley if you did not do so when chopping the vegetables for the filling. 

Heat 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive or vegetable oil in a medium to large frying pan/skillet (same one that you used before if you like) over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots and garlic and cook until the onions and the carrots are beginning to soften.

Add the tomatoes. 

Stir in the bay leaf (if using), basil, oregano, sugar and any other seasonings you are using.

Bring to a boil. Turn down the heat slightly and simmer, uncovered, for about 25 minutes. 

Season with salt and pepper. 

Add parsley. 

Set aside. 

The rolls:

While the sauce is simmering, you can prepare the cabbage rolls. 

Core the cabbage (be careful!). 

Blanch in a large pot of boiling, salted water until the leaves are softened. For kids, blanch a little longer. 

Place in a colander and let cool slightly (so it's easier to work with). 

Carefully separate the leaves and start rolling. The amount of filling you put on the cabbage leaves will depend on the size of the leaves of course. 

Line the pan with the sauerkraut and juice. I used about 3/4 of a large jar for two large casserole pans and one medium-sized casserole dish. Use more or less as is your preference. If you are using chicken broth instead, add it to the pan(s). Place rolls in the pan(s), seam side down. Add the sauce, cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes. OR place the casserole pan(s), covered, into a preheated oven 350⁰ F (180⁰ C) for about 1 hour. 

NOTE: The sauce is also a great simple pasta sauce - another quick meal idea! 

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