Cannelli Beans

[josh]

Had lunch today at an Italian resturaunt. I had a side dish of beans that were to die for. They were called "Tuscan Beans". I asked about them. They told me they were cannelli beans but would not give me the recipe. Bummer. They did tell me they were made from dry beans soaked over night. I picked them apart and found shallots and lots of shredded garlic. then they stirred in a little marinara sauce. Not a lot just a hint of marinara. They were firm and not oily. I could not find dry cannelli beans, commonly called white kidney beans. I will continue to look for them. Perhaps Whole Foods will have them in bulk. I will soak them overnight and cook them in chicken broth. Saute shallots and garlic in oil and mix the beans (no juice) into this with a little marinara. This was soooo delicious. I must try to copy this recipe. Will let you know how it turns out.

[Tina]

Please let us know what you come up with. Sounds wonderful. I did a quick google search for "tuscan beans" and many of the recipes included sage. Was that part of the dish you had?

[kantolak]

I did a search for you and came up with this:

TUSCAN BEANS Sunset Magazine 10/98
1 Pound dried white beans (small white, cannellini, or great northern)
4 oz. Thin-sliced prosciuto (or very lean well flavored ham)
½ cup chopped carrot
½ cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
1 ½ tsp. Olive oil
1 tbsp. fresh rosemary, minced
4 cups chicken broth or stock (skim off any fat)
2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
salt to taste
Sort beans, take out gravel and discard, rinse and drain. Finely chop ham or prosciuto. In a big pot over medium high heat stir carrots, celery, onion and garlic in the oil until the onion is limp, about 4 minutes. Add ham or prosciuto and stir until mixture is lightly browned, 2 - 3 minutes. Add beans, rosemary, 1 1/4 cup water and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer until beans are tender to bite - about 2 - 2 ½ hours, stir occasionally. Puree some of the beans against the side of the pot with a big spoon or blender or immersion blender. If beans are too thick, add a little water or chicken stock. Add salt to taste.
Really good. Makes about 4 ½ cups of finished product. Enough for at least 4 - 6 people. Great w/ lamb, chicken, and grilled meats


Looks good - enjoy!
Kim
214/148.8/145/125

[josh]

Thank you all for your response. I didn't taste or see any rosemary or sage. All I tasted was lots of garlic, (which I love) and shallots and a hint of marinara, salt and pepper, no tomato chunks. I'm sure it was shallots because the color was, white and bluish and very small diced. I soaked some white lima beans last night because I could not find any white beans as large as the one in the recipe. Hope they work. If not no big deal. I will try again. I will go to whole foods today to find some cannelli bean. Will certainly let youk now. They were so [glow=red,2,300]DELICIOUS[/glow]

[josh]

Me again. I had to throw the beans in the trash. They got real mushy. These beans I had at lunch were firm and chewy. I will try and try again until I get it right. Kim, I think I will try the recipe you posted. Thanks. BTW your stats look great. 214 to 125. Wow. Makes me feel really guilty. I have a hard time losing 5 lbs.

[kantolak]

Hey Josh,
My stats aren't that great. The 125 is my personal goal - check it out. But thanks.

214/146.8/145/125

Start/Current/Lifetime/Personal goal

Good luck with the beans.

Kim

[josh]

Oh, Kim, I thought the numbers below your message were what you were and how much you lost. Well, anyway, you will get there.

I finally found the cannelli beans at whole foods. Boy they are expensive. Six bucks for a small bag. I will use them in the future. For today I used a can of cannelle beans by progresso. I sauted lots of garlic and shallots in little olive oil, added a couple of oz. of chicken broth and some fresh thyme. I let that simmer for a little while. Then I added the drained, rinsed beans and let them cook for a while to absorb the mixture, Then I added some fresh basil and a couple tablespoons of marinara. They were very good.