The other night, I made a side dish that was my best bite of food this year. That friends, is a bold statement coming from me.
All the food I cooked all year long and my best bite came from a can of beans!
As we move deeper into fall, I crave warmer comfort foods. When it’s chilly, the last thing I want to eat is something cold.
Last Monday, I made chicken stuffed with garlic, artichokes, and spinach with a little cream cheese to hold it together.
I am trying to get out of the habit of making a starch as a side dish. I made Tuscan white beans.
After deciding that would be our side with dinner, I read through ten or so recipes.
In keeping with my usual Julzie fashion, I took what I liked from some recipes and combined the ingredients to create my own version.
Boom! Best fucking bite of the year! Hands down.
My taste buds and palate which were pretty good before clean eating, are now miles above where they were.
I can taste everything clearer if that makes any sense. Food tastes more pure. I can’t describe it.
What I can describe is my creamy Tuscan white beans.
I started by sautéing three or four cloves of minced garlic in olive oil on low heat. I didn’t want the garlic to brown.
When the garlic was fragrant I added one can of drained and rinsed cannellini beans. Next, I added half a cup of chicken stock.
I covered the sauté pan and simmered the beans, stock, and garlic on low.
Next, I cut up a tomato from my garden and snipped a couple of pieces of basil. With all the warm weather we’ve had, my garden and flowers are still growing — it’s glorious!
I added the tomato to the pan and gave it a stir, then, continued to simmer the beans covered for 10 minutes.
I added the sprigs of basil and covered the pan and let it simmer on the lowest setting for another 10 minutes.
Within five minutes, the kitchen was filled with the smell of fresh basil which is one of my favorite smells and immediately reminds me of summer.
I turned off the heat and let the beans chill out while finishing the rest of our dinner.
Before I turned on the heat again, I added a handful of grated Parmesan cheese to the beans.
Since the cheese and beans can be salty, I waited until now to season the beans which needed a small amount of kosher salt.
I slowly warmed up the beans and watched the Parmesan cheese thicken up the beans. Mmmm!
I wanted to make absolutely sure that I could recreate the same dish and was it really my best bite of the year.
The answer was a big yes to both of those questions.
This is one of those dishes that came from my soul. I took many of my favorite ingredients and worked them into a magical dish.
There are plenty of Tuscan bean recipes out there, many with sage, without tomatoes, and in Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and Italian styles.
One thing for sure is this type of dish is extremely economical, good for you, and delicious!
I will be making these beans often or adding a little more chicken stock and turn it into a soup. Yum!
I struggle like the rest of us trying to come up with new things to make everyday.
Clean-eating recipes have inspired me to try new things and have already given me lots of ideas.
I have around forty fall & winter recipes saved in my notes. As always, if I find a winner I’ll be sure to share it with you.
Have a great upcoming week guys! 🍁
Looks soooo good!