Recipe #3 - Braised Cannellini Beans

This is taken from one of my all time favourite vegetarian cookbooks called 'Paradiso Seasons' by Dennis Cotter - I bought the book whilst staying at the rooms above his restaurant in Cork and it's a fantastic place. You can slow cook this recipe as he suggests in his book, but using a pressure cooker is just as good, saves a lot of time and, like Indian food, tastes better the longer you leave it - so cook the day before if you want and reheat the next day for a deeper flavour.

Ingredients:

400g dried cannellini beans
Olive oil - 150mls
White wine - 150mls
Vegetable stock - 200mls
Sprigs of thyme
Sprig of rosemary
4 cloves of garlic
4 sundried tomatoes
Salt and pepper

Method:

1. Soak the beans in cold water for 2 hours at least.
2. Place beans in pressure cooker with water (enough to cover the beans so about two inches of water), cook to High pressure for 10 minutes - then check. It is best to undercook than overcook as you don't want your beans to disintegrate! Do make sure they are cooked though.
3. Strain the beans, put back in the pot with the olive oil ( a fair amount, up to 150mls), 150mls of wine, the stock, thyme and rosemary.
4. Slice the garlic thinly, chop the sundried tomatoes and add to the beans
5. Season well
6. Now you can either simmer or even put in the oven for 30 minutes or so - I suggest another 3-5 minutes in the pressure cooker at High pressure to save time.

The longer you leave the beans, the more the beans will absorb the flavours around them and the liquid will come together to form a moist and well flavoured background sauce.

If you get the chance to seek this book out, I'm sure you will love it. Not only is it full of excellent recipes, but it's a great read too.