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Hello!
We have a jam-packed journal today – once I got started I seemed to just keep on adding things!
I’ve had a few ask-me-anything questions about dried beans recently, and they all fall into the category of ‘show me how to make them in the steam oven, and ‘how can I easily turn cooked beans into a meal’.
So, with that in mind, today I’m going to show you how I steam dried beans to perfection. Then I’ll share a beautiful bean dish that has you spike creamy cooked butter beans with fresh lemon, garlic and greens. It’s a dish that can be eaten alone, like a stew or casserole, or you can ladle the beans over toast or serve them with flatbread. Basically, a vegan, gluten free, dairy free dream of a dish that works as a main meal or a substantial side to all sorts of things.
There are more beany ideas along seasonal lines below, and in today’s AMA section I’m sharing a bonus recipe for Osso Buco at Clair’s request (if you’re one of the handful of people who were once part of my Patreon offering, this harks back to those newsletters!).
Happy steam oven cooking, see you in the next journal issue!
Emily x
New to Learn
This is a simple method for steamed beans, which will have you cooking all sorts of bean varieties from scratch and popping them into your meals (or making them the star of said meals!).
New to Cook
These butter beans with lemon and garlic (or lemony, garlicky beans, as we call them around here) are a quick, nutritious, and versatile dish featuring creamy butter beans cooked with fresh garlic, lemon, and spinach. They also happen to be vegan, and gluten and dairy free!
This recipe works with either cooked dried beans or canned beans, and it’s a great dish to make if you’ve just started to cook dried beans in your steam oven. The result is a comforting and protein-rich meal or side dish that pairs perfectly with crusty, buttered toast and extra greens.
The Season Flip
More beans!
Southern Hemisphere
The weather has finally, blissfully, turned cool where I am, and soup is firmly on my menu despite the fact my kids won’t touch it. This simple and nourishing white bean version is very happily made with the large butter beans from today’s bean-cooking lesson, but can also be done with smaller cannellini beans, borlotti or even kidney beans. If you haven’t got your own cooked beans on hand, a can will do very nicely.
Northern Hemisphere
Lemony Beans with Anchovy and Parmesan
This is a NYT recipe that riffs on the garlic and lemon flavors from my recipe today, but takes them in a much more summery direction with the addition of salty anchovies, capers and parmesan, and great handfuls of greens and herbs. Use larger butter beans or smaller cannellini beans, either way it’s a fabulous dish. The recipe is paywalled but I’m sharing here with my ‘gifting’ link so you should all be able to see it.
A Thing I'm Loving
If you’ve existed anytime from the 1980’s onwards in Australia, you’ll be familiar with the bright, bold work of iconic artist Ken Done. His works are so distinctive and fun, and a true hallmark of my 80’s and 90’s childhood, when Ken Done mania was at its peak and his splashy paintings (and bedspread covers!) seemed to be everywhere.
I was thrilled last week to discover a collaboration between Done and the lifestyle brand Kip & Co (also Aussie, but now available in many countries). I love, love, love this beautiful linen apron resplendent with ocean colors and creatures. At the time of writing it’s on sale, and I do think it would make an excellent gift to yourself or others.
No affiliate links above, just a love for the product.
Ask Me Anything (AMA)
Here’s your opportunity to ask me anything you like related to combi steam cooking!
I encourage you to submit questions, and will do my best to answer as many as possible. Though I may not be able to get to every single question, I will carefully curate ones which are relevant and represent a variety of topics. We all learn from each other, and I often learn new things based on questions from all of you!
If you have an AMA question, please email it to [email protected]. Make sure you include the phrase INSIDERS AMA in the subject line so I can collate and read all your submissions.
From Clair
Q: I’ve recently bought and frozen some osso buco from my butcher – I’m wondering if you have any recommendations for how to cook it by itself or a recipe that it works well in?
A: You’re in luck! Way back when I had a Patreon offering for Steam & Bake, I did a newsletter with Osso Buco as the star. I never got around to republishing the recipe on the website, but I’ve linked it for you right here. I’ll also get it onto the website over the coming week or so, so it’s searchable with the rest of my recipes.
