Pinto Beans and Prunes (Vegan)

Submitted by COOKGIRl

"Here's a quick and easy Mediterranean-inspired dish. Pink beans, cannellini or Great Northern beans can replace the pinto beans if you prefer. Turkish apricots, dates, raisins/currants can sub for prunes, too. From the cookbook 'Bean Banquet: from Boston to Bombay. Serve over pasta, brown rice, coucous, quinoa, etc accompanied by steamed vegetable of choice (we served the beans over whole wheat couscous with a side of freshly steamed green beans) or you may prefer a simple tossed green salad. Non-vegans may enjoy the bean mixture topped with a garnish of crumbled feta..."

 

• Ready In: 30mins
• Ingredients: 16
• Serves: 3-4

ingredients

• 1 cup dried pink beans
• 1⁄4 cup olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 1 garlic clove, mashed
• 2 cups fresh tomatoes, diced (I tried 1 cup of fire-roasted canned tomatoes and 1 cup of leftover marinara sauce) or 2 cups canned diced tomatoes
• 1⁄3 cup prune, pitted and diced small (reduced from 3/4 cup)
• 2 tablespoons vinegar (vinegar was not specified but I tried raw apple cider )
• 1⁄4 cup apple juice or 1/4 cup apple cider
• 1⁄4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 dash ground cloves
• 1 dash freshly grated nutmeg
• 2 bay leaves
• salt, to taste
• white pepper, to taste

• Garnish

• fresh basil, cut into ribbons or fresh parsley, minced
• 1⁄2 lemon, sliced

directions

1. Cook the dried beans *reserving* some of the liquid.
2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet or saucepan.
3. Lightly brown the onions and garlic for a few minutes.
4. Add all the ingredients except for the beans and simmer for about 15-20 minutes or until onions and prunes are soft.
5. Add the drained beans (and a little bean broth to thin the sauce if necessary.) Heat through for a few minutes.

Reviews

[pammyowl]

I used dried apricots, I thought I had prunes, but sadly, no. I served it over brown rice, possibly my favorite food in the world! Also, I cut the vinegar back to 1 Tbsp. I am not a huge fan of savory dishes with sweet spices, so I skipped the cinnamon and cloves, but did use the nutmeg. Loved it, thanks for sharing! Made for Ramadan 2013