Marinated Shell Beans With Cherry Tomatoes And Oregano Food

MARINATED SHELL BEANS WITH CHERRY TOMATOES AND OREGANO

Steps:

• Wrap the onion, garlic, and sage in a doubled piece of cheesecloth and tie it into a closed bundle with kitchen twine. Put each type of bean in a separate small or medium saucepan and add enough water to each pan to cover the beans by 1 1/2 inches. Place one bouquet in each pan, stir in the olive oil, bring the water to a boil over high heat, and salt the water to taste like the ocean. Add approximately 1 tablespoon of salt for each quart of water. Reduce the heat and simmer the beans until they are tender and creamy, but not mushy, adding more water as needed, but never covering them by more than an inch and a half, 25 to 35 minutes. (Cooking them in this way yields richer tasting, creamier beans than if you were to just boil them in tons of water.) Turn off the heat and allow the beans to cool in the cooking liquid. Remove and discard the cheesecloth bundles. The beans can be prepared to this point up to one week in advance. If you are using the beans now, drain them, reserving the cooking liquid to use as a hearty, bean-flavored base for vegetable soup. To use them later, transfer the beans and the cooking liquid to an airtight container and refrigerate until you are ready to use them or up to 24 hours. Drain and bring the beans to room temperature before dressing them.
• Combine the various beans in a large mixing bowl. Add the tomatoes, parsley, and oregano. Drizzle with the vinaigrette, season with salt and pepper, and stir gently to combine the ingredients, taking care not to crush the beans. Taste for seasoning and add more salt, pepper, or vinaigrette, if desired. Serve at room temperature.

MARINATED GREEN BEANS WITH OLIVES, TOMATOES, AND FETA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium heat and drop in the green beans; cook until slightly tender, but still crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. Immediately drain the green beans and plunge into ice water to stop the beans from cooking further. Drain the beans and place them in a shallow serving dish.
• Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook garlic in the oil for about 30 seconds. Remove the skillet from the heat. Stir in the olives, tomatoes, vinegar, oregano, salt, and pepper. Pour mixture over green beans. Toss together until beans are evenly coated. Sprinkle feta cheese over the top and garnish with oregano sprigs. Chill at least 3 hours before serving.

SHELL BEAN RAGOUT

Steps:

• In a heavy soup pot or Dutch oven, combine the shell beans, onion, crushed garlic clove, bouquet garni and 4 cups water. Bring to a boil. Add salt to taste, reduce heat, cover and simmer 30 minutes. Remove and discard onion and garlic clove.
• Meanwhile, heat olive oil over medium heat in a medium skillet and add leeks and celery. Cook, stirring, until they begin to soften, about 3 minutes, and stir in minced garlic. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute, and add tomatoes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until tomatoes have cooked down slightly, about 10 minutes.
• Stir leek and tomato mixture into beans, along with summer squash. Bring back to a simmer and cook 15 minutes, until beans are creamy-tender but intact and the vegetables are soft and fragrant. Taste and adjust seasonings. Remove bouquet garni.
• Ladle ragout into wide bowls. Top each serving with a generous sprinkling of slivered basil leaves and a spoonful of Parmesan.

SUMMER BEANS WITH MARINATED MOZZARELLA AND CHERRY TOMATOES

Steps:

• In a medium-size bowl, toss the shallots with vinegar.
• Add cubed mozzarella, herbs and oil.
• Toss well to coat, season with salt and pepper and marinate for a few hours or overnight to let flavors blend.
• Bring a medium-size pot of water to a boil and add 1/2-teaspoon salt.
• Drop in the beans and cook until just tender, 1 to 2 minutes for small young beans and up to 6 minutes for larger beans.
• Drain.
• Toss the hot beans with the olive oil, shallots, tarragon, 1/2-teaspoon salt and pepper.
• The beans will soak up the flavors as they cool to room temperature.
• Toss in the cherry tomatoes.
• Season and drizzle with additional oil and vinegar if desired.