White Bean Piccata

EdsGirlAngie's Note:

Mmmm, lemony piccata ... who says it can only be made with veal or chicken? This version uses white beans (navy or cannellinis work well). Capers are optional ... I personally can't stand them, but they are a typical piccata ingredient, so use if you like. Serve with fresh hot spaghetti noodles.

• Total Time: 45 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 3

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small onion , minced
• 1 clove garlic , minced
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 1 ¼ cups hot vegetable broth
• ¼ cup water
• 5 tablespoons lemon juice
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons capers , with brine
• 1 (14 ½ ounce) can navy beans or 1 (14 ½ ounce) can cannellini beans

Directions:

1. Saute onions and garlic in olive oil in a medium saucepan until transparent- do not allow to brown.
2. Slowly stir in flour and cook and stir until combined and"rawness" is gone.
3. Combine hot broth and water; slowly whisk into flour mixture until smooth and slightly thickened.
4. Add lemon juice, salt, beans and capers (if using).
5. Cook and stir until thickened a little more (mixture will thicken more upon cooling and once mixed with pasta).
6. Serve with hot spaghetti noodles.

Reviews

[little_wing]

Enjoyed this tasty dish. It actually took much less time to make than the recipe suggests. Minced the onions and garlic. Then started the oil heating while I got the broth going. By that time the oil was hot enough to add the onions and garlic. Gave that a good stir and while it was doing it's thing, I got the rest of the ingredients ready. Then it was time to add the flour and follow the rest of the steps. I wanted to add some color and also didn't want to have to fix a salad or other side, so after the sauce thickened, I add two big handfuls of freash spinach, covered the pan and let that sit for about 5-6 minutes until the spinach wilted. I'd thought about serving with rice because beans and rice is a combo I'm more familiar with, but I'm glad I stuck with noodles because the sauce really clung to the pasta well. Two things I would do different next time is use more beans and less lemon juice. We did use capers and that might be why the tartness was a bit too strong for us. Thanks for sharing!

[Bobtail]

This is a wonderful recipe, which I prepared as directed by the instructions, just adding a bit of spinach at the end and not using the capers. I did prepare this ahead of time, fully intending to serve over spaghetti for dinner. However, upon tasting it , I said to heck with the spaghetti and just heated it and ate it as a soup. I just love the fresh clean flavor that the lemon juice gave the beans. Who needs veal or chicken? The beans hit the spot. However, the next time I would like to try it with the capers and serve over spaghetti, to be true to the recipe. Yummy! Thanks EGA!

[L'ecole]

Delicious! Both I and the DH love capers (if you do too, see my recipe for fish fillets with lemon and capers -- #394159), so I was pretty sure this would be a hit. Added 2/3 of a green pepper (chopped) and two handfuls of baby spinach as recommended, and served it over penne, which is what I had in the house at the time. Yummy, and will definitely make it again!