When I was in San Francisco over the holidays, one of my first stops was at the Rancho Gordo stand at the Ferry Building Farmer’s Market. I was eyeing the beautiful Christmas lima beans and the woman from RG said, “Those are really great with mushrooms.” Hmmm. I’m not sure why, but I’d never paired beans and mushrooms before, so I just knew I had to try it.

With no recipe to go on, I winged it. Which I’m proud to say, I’m getting pretty damn good at! This impromptu stew features the plump Christmas limas, portobello and shiitake mushrooms, onions, tomatoes and fresh herbs. It’s hard to believe something so simple could be so incredibly good – my dinner guests were still raving about it the next day. I served it on soft polenta, but it would also be delicious on its own with just some crusty whole wheat bread.

If your only impression of lima beans is those boring little green things your parents forced you to eat as a kid, you’re in for a pleasant surprise. Christmas limas are a whole different animal – they’re huge and taste a bit like chestnuts. But if you can’t get your hands on any, don’t fret. This stew would also be good with gigante beans (giant Greek white beans), or even cannellini or cranberry beans.

This is my entry into My Legume Love Affair, a popular recurring event organized by Susan Wolfe from The Well Seasoned Cook, and being hosted this time by Ammalu’s Kitchen. I’ll be hosting the event myself in September, so start working on your bean recipes, everyone!

Heirloom Bean and Mushroom Stew

1 pound large beans (Christmas limas, gigantes, etc.), soaked overnight
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 medium onions, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
8 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
6 ounces portobello mushrooms, chopped
8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, thickly sliced
3 springs fresh thyme
1 28-ounce can whole plum tomatoes in puree
1/2 cup red or white wine
1/2 cup reserved bean cooking liquid, or additional wine
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Place the beans in a large pot and cover with water by about two inches. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the beans are tender (mine took nearly two hours; smaller beans will take significantly less time.) Drain, reserving a half-cup of cooking liquid.

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in another dutch oven or very deep skillet. Add the onions and garlic, and saute for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and thyme, raise the heat to medium-high and cook for 5 minutes longer, stirring constantly. Add the tomatoes including the puree, crushing the tomatoes with your hands and discarding the hard stem ends. Add the wine, bean cooking liquid, parsley, salt and pepper. Gently stir in the beans. Simmer, partially covered, for about 20 minutes.

Please comment, tweet, “Like” and share this post using the buttons below. Plus, check out some other bean stew recipes that you might enjoy:

Cranberry bean and escarole stew
Cannellini bean stew with fresh herbs
Pasta with beans, greens and vegetarian sausage

With both spinach and chickpeas, this curry is hyper-nutritious. You’ve got your fiber, your protein, your iron and your vitamins A and C. Chana saag is like health in a bowl! It’s perfect on its own with brown basmati rice, or as a part of a larger feast. For a recent Indian-themed dinner party I served it along with seitan tikka masala, baingan bhurta (smoky eggplant) and aloo gobi (potato and cauliflower curry.)

I recommend serving raita along with this dish, as it helps cut the intensity of the spinach a bit. You can make a nice simple one with yogurt (or soy yogurt), minced cucumber, fresh mint and cumin. This recipe would also be terrific with mustard greens in place of the spinach, although you’d have to cook the greens for a minute or two longer.

It’s funny to see how some people react when I tell them I like to cook Indian food. Their eyes get really big and they say something along the lines of “that must be so difficult, how did you learn?”  Well, I started by cooking from Suvir Suran’s Indian Home Cooking (which is available in my new Amazon store, right on this blog!)  It’s a great book that has approachable yet authentic recipes – and none of them call for ghee, so it’s heart-healthy. If you’re an Indian food novice, it’s a great cookbook to start with. But the truth is, once you go out and buy all the necessary spices, cooking Indian food is surprisingly simple.

Oh, and if you want the recipe for the aforementioned seitan tikka masala – which was incredible – just email me through the “contact” link above and I’ll send it along. Frankly, it just wasn’t pretty enough for the blog (or should I say my photo skills weren’t good enough to make it presentable.) In any case, the flavor more than makes up for its homely appearance. So do give me a shout if you’d like that recipe. If you’re in Brooklyn, you might even score an invitation to my next Indian feast!

Photo prop fun: I picked up the cool teardrop-shaped dish at Fishs Eddy. And if you’re wondering what the fence-like thing is in the background of the photo, it’s actually part of a sculpture created by my über-talented artist husband, Tim. See his work here.

Chickpea and Spinach Curry (chana saag)

1 pound baby spinach
1 or 2 small hot green chiles (such as serranos), minced
3 tablespoons organic canola or high-oleic safflower oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
½ teaspoon black mustard seeds
3 green cardamom seeds
1 pinch asafoetida powder
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1-inch piece ginger, minced or grated
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
1½ cups canned crushed tomatoes, or 3 ripe tomatoes, roughly pureed
1 teaspoon lemon juice
4 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin powder
1 teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 15 ounce cans chickpeas, rinsed
2 teaspoons garam masala

Bring a pot of water to boil. Add the baby spinach and cook until tender, about 1 to 2 minutes. Drain well and squeeze out excess liquid. Place in a food processor along with the green chile, and process until smooth, adding a bit of water only as necessary to create a puree.

Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large deep skillet or dutch oven. Add the cumin seeds, mustard seeds, cardamom and asafoetida and cook for 2 minutes. Add the onions, ginger and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until onions start to brown around the edges, about 4-5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, lemon juice, coriander, cumin powder, turmeric and cayenne. Reduce the heat and simmer for 6-7 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the spinach puree, salt and chickpeas. Partially cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes, adding a bit of water if mixture seems too thick. Add garam masala and additional salt if needed, and serve.

If you like this recipe – or just think your spicy food-lovin’ cousin might like it – please tweet it, like it or share it!