The snowstorm in Texas is finally over! And after days of no running water and roll-out blackouts, I'm so thrilled to rejoin modern civilization lol. It's times like this when we could really use some real comfort food. And this bowl of warm, buttery soft, flavorful and nutritious great northern bean or white bean stew hits just the right spot.
As a lazy chef, I've always been pretty reluctant to start with dry beans until I discovered that you can cook raw, dry beans with your rice cooker! The beauty of using a rice cooker is that you just need to set up the program, put the beans and water in, start the program, and walk away, go ahead, go about your day till the rice cooker beeps. It saves you hours of waiting by the pot, continuously stirring and watching it so it doesn't burn.
For this stew, I cooked the beans twice in my rice cooker with the brown rice program, if yours doesn't have an option for brown rice then the regular white rice program works too. Cooking the beans twice makes them extra soft and buttery. I also added a handful of barleys for an additional chewy texture. And with the carrots, celeries, tomatoes, onions all in one bowl, you've got a full meal in one go.
Here are some more soup ideas for you to try: Sweet Red Bean Porridge and One Pot Vegan Ramen.
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cup great northern beans or white beans
2 cup reserved bean water or vegetable stock
1 sweet onion, diced
1 large tomato, diced
2 carrot, chopped
4 celery stalks, chopped
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon tamari/soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon coconut amino
Olive oil
Salt to taste
Optional -
1/2 cup barley
Lemon zest, garlic clove, and cilantro for topping
TO MAKE:
- Soak the beans overnight, the next day when you're ready to cook, drain and discard the water;
- Add soaked beans to your rice cooker, add enough water so there are at least 2 inches of water above the beans, cook with a brown rice program or the regular white rice program;
- Drain the water again, add the same about of fresh water to cover the beans, add the barleys now if using, cook the beans the second time, drain and reserve 2 cups of the bean water;
- In a pot over medium-high heat, heat a drizzle of olive oil, add the onions, sauté for 3-4 minutes till lightly brown, add the balsamic vinegar, continue to cook till caramelized;
- Add the carrots, cook for 2 minutes, then add the tomatoes, stir and press on the tomatoes to help them release the juice, cook till tomatoes are soft and mushy;
- Add in the pre-cooked beans and barley, stir to combine, then add 2 cups of the reserved bean water, you can also use vegetable stock, stir, cover, and bring to a boil;
- Once boiling, add the celeries, stir and bring to a boil again, then lower the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent burning at the bottom;
- Meanwhile, prepare the toppings if using, zest 1 lemon, finely chopped 1 large garlic clove, and a handful of cilantro, mix together with a squeeze of lemon juice;
- When the stew is cooked thoroughly and to your preferred texture, add salt to taste, serve hot with crackers, pita chips, tortilla chips, or crusty toast. Enjoy!
