Last night for my main course for dinner I had beans. Broccoli and garlic mashed potatoes as sides, but the heart of the meal–the protein–was beans, and they were great. I’m certainly not a vegetarian (though I dating my second one in a row), but being unemployed limits the amount of meat I can rationalize buying, as does my family’s history of high cholesterol, diabetes, and heart problems. As a bonus, it means I can feel slightly less guilty about how much petroleum it takes to sustain me, and the neurotic part of my psyche is glad not to have to bleach half the kitchen quite as often out of fear a single drop of chicken juice hitting the counter. What can I say? I have a healthy fear of food poisoning.
Anyway, two nights ago I had tried poaching pears in sugar and water, and it was a giant disappointment. The recipe wanted 5 cups of water and 2.5 cups of sugar, which would later be reduced down to 1 cup. I still don’t think that’s physically possible. Adding to the problem, I think the pears weren’t ripe enough…. So last night, I decided to get rid of the remaining poached pears creatively, by adapting another recipe out of Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegetarian: Simple Meatless Recipes for Great Food. Here’s a version of what I made, assuming you don’t have a couple of poached pears sitting in your fridge.
Red Kidney Beans with Rosemary, Pear, and Sherry
- 1-2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1/2 medium to large onion, chopped small
- 1 can of pear in light syrup, drained and cut into small chunks
- 1 tsp. rosemary, crushed
- 1/4 cup Sherry or white wine (I used sherry, since I had some)
- 1 can of red kidney beans, drained and well-rinsed under hot water
- salt and pepper to taste
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and add onion when hot. Cook for a few minutes, and when onion begins to soften, add pear. Stir frequently and cook until onion golden, about 7 minutes total.
- Add rosemary and then sherry (or white wine)–bring to a boil and reduce down until almost dry, about 2 minutes. Stir frequently.
- Add red kidney beans, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook about 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve hot. Enjoy!
If you try this recipe, let me know how it turns out–or if you have any ideas to improve it!
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