Winter squash and beans
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes + the time to cook the beans (at least 1 hour)
Keywords: saute side gluten-free low-carb nut-free soy-free sugar-free vegetarian vegan winter squash beans onion Italian
Ingredients (serves 2-3)
For the beans
- 1/2 cup / 100 g / 3 1/2 ounces Yellow Eye beans or other similar beans
- 2 cups / 480 ml water
- 1/2 bay leaf
- 1 garlic clove, sliced
- 1/2 small onion, halved
- A couple of parsley stems
- 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
For the beans
- Half of the cooked beans and their liquid (see below)
- 1 pound / 450 grams winter squash (for example, Speckled Hound, Musquée de Provence), clean weight
- 2 tablespoons / 30 ml extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 ounces / 112 grams red onion, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
Cook the dry beans
Rinse the beans then place them in a small saucepan with the water, the aromatics and the sea salt. Cover, bring the water to a lively boil and keep it there for 4-5 minutes. Turn down the heat and let the beans simmer, covered, until they are tender. Taste them after 1 hour and estimate how much longer they should cook.
Check the beans at regular intervals. If necessary, add some hot water to ensure there is enough liquid to cover the beans.
Let the beans cool in their broth, then remove the aromatics and discard them. Let the beans rest in their cooking broth until ready to use.
Prepare the dish
Drain the beans and weigh separately the beans and their liquid: set aside half of each for the recipe. Put the rest of the beans back in the rest of the liquid and refrigerate for use within the next few days.
Peel and deseed the squash. I use a grapefruit spoon to remove the seeds and a sturdy swivel vegetable peeler to peel the squash. Depending on the type of squash, you may halve it first, then deseed it, then peel it. This is what I did with the Speckled Hound squash. If you are using a honeynut squash, however, it is easier to peel it first, then cut it. I purchased the Musquée de Provence cut into sections and already deseeded, so I only had to peel it.
Weigh the amount of squash needed. Cut the squash into small bit-sized pieces.
In a 10-inch / 25-cm deep sauté pan, warm up the olive oil on medium heat, add the onion, stir well, then turn down the heat. After 1 minute, add the grated ginger and stir well. Cover the pan and cook on low heat for 8 minutes, until the onion is soft, stirring often and making sure the pan does not become dry.
Add the garlic to the pan and stir well. After 1 minute, turn up the heat to medium, add the cut squash and stir well. Add 2 tablespoons of the bean broth and stir well. Cover, lower the heat and cook until the squash is just tender (15 minutes, or as needed), stirring every now and then. Add the beans and stir well. Cover and let cook for 5 minutes.
Sprinkle the sea salt and stir. Remove the pan from the heat, sprinkle the parsley on the vegetables and stir well. Serve immediately.
