I have to admit, I’ve been pretty lazy in the kitchen here lately. There’s been lots of throwing simple things together, or running through drive thru’s on the way home. There’s also a possibility the local Chinese place is on our speed dial.
Needless to say, I thought my husband deserved a dinner that didn’t come out of a carry out container, so I decided to try out a recipe I found on, Ooh La Raw. It’s called white bean and spinach “ragout,” which apparently translates into stew. Thank you, Google.
It’s a delicious blend of fresh veggies, cannelini beans, and an incredible tomato sauce. The original recipe suggests serving over polenta so that’s what we did, but we both agreed it would be perfect over pasta, too. A word of warning if you go the polenta route, however; apparently, our local Publix wasn’t too sure it actually existed. They eventually found one package in the back of the store and informed my husband that it had been ordered by mistake since nobody ever buys it. Interesting…
So here goes nothing. This is my spin on the original recipe. My husband and I couldn’t get enough. It was a pretty easy dinner to throw together, but tasted like something that took some serious time and energy!
First things first, dice up your mushrooms, red bell pepper and onion. Throw those into your pan and let them sauté until the onions are nice and brown. After that, add in your tomato paste and wine. Once you’ve let the wine cook down a little, stir in your broth and roma tomatoes.
For quality assurance purposes, don’t forget to sample your ingredients throughout the cooking process! I just love cooking with wine…don’t you?
Bring this mixture to a boil and allow to simmer for 15 minutes. Salt and pepper to suit your own personal fancy. I never quite follow the recipes when it comes to spices; I must warn you. Just taste as you go and give it any extra flare you think that it needs Finally, add in your spinach and allow it to wilt. Serve over hot polenta.
Bon appétit!
Ingredients:
1 T extra virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper
2 cloves of garlic
3 T tomato paste
1 t Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 C dry white wine
3 roma tomatoes
1/2 C vegetable broth
1 bay leaf
pinch of red pepper flakes
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
4 C spinach
1/2 t basil
polenta (or pasta)
Directions:
- Saute onion, red pepper, mushrooms, and garlic in oil over medium high heat until the onions begin to brown.
- Add in your tomato paste and wine. Allow the wine to cook down before adding in the fresh tomatoes, vegetable broth, red pepper flakes, italian seasoning, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil.
- Add in your beans and lower the heat. Salt and pepper to taste. Allow the mixture to simmer for around fifteen minutes.
- After removing the bay leaf, stir in your spinach and basil. On low heat, stir occasionally as the spinach wilts.
- Serve over hot polenta, or pasta.
Tip: I heated the polenta over medium heat and added small amounts of water at a time to help make it creamy.
