Fall is in coming fast in Colorado. The morning air is crisp, the trees are showing their autumn colors, and the mountains smell like sage and pine. Over the weekend, I drove I-70 across the state through Vail Valley, Summit County, and all of the ski resorts, and the scenery is unreal. The aspen trees (which I have become thoroughly obsessed with) are bright yellow, which is striking against the deep green of the spruce trees, and the mountains are snow-capped from their first dusting of the season. Amazingly refreshing. Makes me want to curl up by a fireplace for days and eat warm food.
Like roasty tomatoes. Unlike last year, this has been a fantastic summer for tomatoes. Ah, the simple joy of good produce.
So here we go: The beans make this recipe meaty and filling with tasty fiber, and the roasted tomatoes add so much flavor that you won't even notice there are no meat or grains here.
Roasting vegetables is by far my favorite way to eat them.
Just look at those roasty tomatoes taking over.
Thin zucchini slices are key - they will get soft without having to cook them, and plus, look how pretty they are.
Zucchini noodles with cannellini bean, roasted tomato, and white wine sauce
Serves 2
1/2 cup dried cannellini beans
Water
1 medium-sized tomato
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
1 large (or 2 smaller) zucchini
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 medium-sized yellow onion, diced small
1/2 cup dry white wine (cooking wine works well too)
- The night before: Rinse cannellini beans, put in a saucepan, and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil for 1 minute, then turn off heat. Cover and let them sit overnight.
- The next day: Bring the beans to a boil again, then simmer for 1-2 hours or until soft. Drain.
- Preheat oven to 425. Quarter the tomato and place on a sheet pan. Drizzle and toss with about 2 Tbsp olive oil to coat, and sprinkle with some salt and pepper. Roast for 20-30 minutes or until the edges are browned and the insides are soft and bubbly.
- Use a mandoline or super awesome knife skills to slice the zucchini in thin strips. Place in a colander and sprinkle with ~1 tsp salt, and toss to make sure each slice is salty. This helps to draw the juices out and make the zucchini soft so you don't have to cook it. Let it sit for 15 minutes and then rinse well to remove the salt.
- Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a pan and add the garlic and onion. Cook for about 1 minute or until the onion is softened, but don't burn the garlic!
- Add the white wine and scrape all the onion bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the roasted tomatoes, stir for a few seconds to break them up and let them release their flavor into the sauce, then add the beans and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Finally, add the rinsed zucchini slices (make sure they're pretty dry so they don't dilute the sauce). Cook for about 1 minute to warm them through, but don't let them get too soft.
- Season with any herbs you like (my favorites are thyme and oregano), and add a little salt and pepper as needed.
Labels: bulk bins, legumes, main dish, vegan, vegetable, vegetarian
