One of my most favorite dishes on my recent trip to Italy was the beans! Simple bean side dishes were divinely amazing in Italy. So I knew that when I returned home, a big pot of beans would be the first dish I would try to replicate. For these Tuscan-Style Creamy White Beans with mushrooms and fresh herbs, I wanted soothing warmth and flavor to come through in each bite, and I wanted the texture to be rich and creamy, just like I had tasted at a few amazing restaurants, specifically those in Tuscany...
(stay tuned! coming this week and the next, more adventures and recipes from my trip to Italy!)
Beans are a vegan-dream! They are rich in fiber, iron and a good source of plant-based protein, calcium and folate. Plus they taste amazing and can be served in a variety of creative ways.
Flavor. Full. I wanted these beans to have some serious flavor. Blandness not wanted. So here are the three ways I helped achieve bold bean flavor:
1. I use veggie broth in place of water for the cooking of the beans.
2. I let the beans sit overnight before serving. This reduced them and intensified the flavor.
3. I used fresh herbs and an accent of sautèed mushrooms to add even more flavor. Bay leaf, sage, flat-leaf parsley and rosemary to be exact.
Start with dried beans for the best beans ever. These are Cassoulet white beans from the Rancho Gordo brand.
Creamy-delicious.
Yummy serving suggestion.. beans on toast with sliced pears:
savory and sweet plate.
Another serving suggestion, fold in nutritional yeast and serve the beans on toast with vegan mayo, aka vegenaise..
Tuscan-Style White Beans with Rosemary and Mushrooms
By Published 12/02/2014
This is my spin on Tuscan-style white beans with rosemary and mushrooms, just like I enjoyed on a trip to Italy!
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry white beans, I used Cassoulet white beans
- 5 cups vegetable broth
- 4-5 cloves garlic
- ½ teaspoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- 1 ½ cups mushrooms, chopped (hen of the woods used)
- 3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil,
- 2 whole sprigs fresh rosemary (1 for cooking, one for garnish)
- 3 fresh sage leaves **
- ½ teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
- 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- 1 bay leaf (optional)
- ¼ cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- **You may use both rosemary and sage or choose one only
Instructions
- The night before you want to cook your beans, add the beans to a large pot and fill with water, covering beans by at least two inches. Allow beans to soak for at least four hours before cooking.
- Drain water from beans and rinse beans. Add then to a large cooking pot.
- Add the broth, garlic, sage and/or rosemary sprig, bay leaf, black pepper, 2 tablespoon olive oil. Bring this mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer beans, covered for at least two hours. You want the beans to be very tender when you move onto the next step.
- When the beans are tender and most of the broth has been absorbed, go through and mash about ⅓ of the beans using a fork. This will help thicken the beans to a creamy state upon serving.
- Pour the beans in a glass dish and seal tightly. Place beans in the fridge and allow them to reduce overnight.
- The next day your beans will be even more marinated with flavor and tender texture. Remove the bay leaf and sprig of rosemary and pour beans in a pot, or place glass dish in a warm oven if your dish is oven-dafe. Heat beans to a hot and steamy temperature. Heating and simmering will further remove some moisture and intensify the flavor.
- Now is the time to salt the beans! Do a taste test and add salt to taste, or about 1 teaspoon for a bold savory flavor.
- The last step before serving is to add the mushrooms. Warm a skillet to high heat and add 1 tablespoon EVOO. Add the chopped mushrooms and saute on high until they are crispy on the edges, and cooked through. Just before finishing the shrooms, stir in the flat-leaf parsley. Add a pinch of salt to the mushrooms if desired. Tip: To add even more complex flavor to the woody mushrooms, add a splash of wine, about a teaspoon, just after you turn off the heat!
- Fold the mushrooms into the beans and pour the bean dish into a serving bowl. Top with the one fresh sprig of rosemary and serve! Delicious as leftovers too, these beans will last in the fridge up to a week when properly stored, tightly.
Yield: 4 servingsPrep Time: 08 hrs. 00 mins. Cook time: 02 hrs. 30 mins. Total time: 10 hrs. 30 mins. Tags: beans, italy,tuscan,side,
Jessica Bullock says
I love this recipe and have come back to it again and again over the years. A modified version of it was a side dish at a big farm-to-table dinner we held on our farm back in 2015, and it'll be dinner tomorrow night. Great recipe.
Sferd says
What kind of wine should be added at the end?
adamsonphoto . says
Looks incredible and fairly simple. With the fresh herbs used in the cooking would using a pressure cooker still be feasible?
Kathy Patalsky says
I would think so. Pressure cooking is usually good at infusing flavor into foods so I would think it would work great. Just be sure to use enough liquid so that the beans still stay moist and creamy.
Stacey says
Is the garlic whole or chopped? If whole, do you take it out before serving?
Kathy Patalsky says
Chopped
Kathy Patalsky says
Chopped
Heather says
I made this dish and it was so good! Very creamy and so healthy! Thank you Kathy for sharing the recipe and making your site so appealling! I have made many of your recipes and they are always a hit!
Kathy Patalsky says
Thank you so much Carla! Glad you liked them!
JenH says
I made this yesterday and mine turned into a soup. I don't know what happened but it looked nothing like your picture. It still tasted good but I ended up adding carrots and turnips to make it more filling. I cooked it all in my pressure cooker so maybe that was the problem. I need to try it again.
Kathy Patalsky says
There was probably just not the right balance of liquid to dry beans. It can be tricky based on what bean you are using. I would advise, if unsure about your bean, using less liquid then monitoring the beans a bit and halfway through adding more liquid if things look too dry - like all the liquid is nearly absorbed. Hope that helps!
Sue Adamo says
I tried this recipe this past weekend and it was a keeper. Very tasty - not only will I make again but it will go in my recipe box of favourite recipes. Thanks so much for posting!
Kathy Patalsky says
super! Happy to hear that!
Ashlee says
Definitely saving this recipe! I need some more ways to season and prepare beans.
Kathy Patalsky says
Oh good!
Heather McClees says
Beans have never looked so beautiful<3 #MustTry - Lots of love pretty lady!
Kathy Patalsky says
thank you Heather!
RockMyVeganSocks says
OMG beans & mushrooms YES!
Veg Spotter says
This loooks soooooo good, it's wrong. Similar to the Cannelini beans I had in Torin.
Kathy Patalsky says
haha yay, I will take that!
John Hartil says
What a delicious snack this will be!
Kathy Patalsky says
Thanks John!
coconutandberries says
These beans look wonderful! I lived in Florence for a couple of months and loved it there.
Kathy Patalsky says
That must have been amazing! I would love to live overseas for a few months. A few days just isn't enough time! 🙂
Warm Vanilla Sugar says
The more beans in my body, the better! I just love this recipe!
Kathy Patalsky says
Thank you!
Adriane says
Would I be able to make these in the crockpot on low during a work day?
Kathy Patalsky says
I think so! I do not own a crock pot so I cannot give details, but I know beans and chili etc are great from slow cookers.
Ksenia of At the Immigrant's T says
Oh man, these look scrumptious! You can almost taste the slow-cooking process! Great job 🙂
Kathy Patalsky says
thank you! I tried to be very sllooooowwwwww .. which is hard for me 😉
Rachel says
I had a similar dish years ago and have failed replicating it. I cannot wait to try yours!
Kathy Patalsky says
I hope you can replicate it! The one main tip I can give is to cook the beans for as long as possible at a lower temperature and to give them that extra day in the fridge to reduce before serving. Also, salt them after cooking. I cooked mine in about two hours, but do whatever you can manage. good luck! They are so good, I am making more tomorrow!