Amazing Greek Beans with Honey and Dill

This recipe for Greek baked beans with honey and dill is adapted from a Martha Rose Shulman recipe at the New York Times.  She offers a range of health-conscious recipes that are always big on flavor.  These are unlike any baked beans I've ever eaten.  The honey, vinegar and dill in the recipe combine with the beans and tomatoes to make a rich, hearty dish that goes great with some chewy bread.  The beans are baked for an hour and 30 minutes in the oven, which makes them quite creamy, not mushy.  It's a meal in itself, but this also makes a good side dish, too!  Instead of diced canned tomatoes that Shulman's recipe calls for, I used tomatoes that Robert cooked down into a sauce and canned. the result, I think, is a more tomato-y dish. Our dill had run its course in the garden, so all I had dried.  It did the trick, though I'd imagine fresh dill would be heavenly.  Shulman's recipe doesn't call for Parmesan cheese, and it's possible this addition makes them decidedly less Greek then.  We like the salty meatiness the cheese adds.

Greek Baked Beans with Honey and Dill
1 pound great northern beans (or other white bean), soaked in a large bowl of water overnight (or see recipe for quick soak method)
about 1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium red or other sweet onion, chopped
6 cups stewed tomatoes (or 1 28-ounce can chopped tomatoes)
1 bay leaf
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons tomato paste (could skip if you use the stewed tomatoes)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
salt
pepper
1 tablespoon dried dill (or to taste)
about 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Quick soak bean prep: If you forgot to soak beans the night before like I often do, you can place them in the pot and cover with several inches of water.  Bring to a boil and boil for about 3 or 4 minutes, then turn off the pot, cover, and let the beans soak in the hot water for an hour. Drain.
 
Place the soaked beans in a dutch oven or other oven safe pot. Add water to cover three inches above the beans.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes.

While beans cook, saute the onion in a few tablespoons of olive oil (not the whole 1/4 cup!) until they begin to caramelize. Heat the oven to 375 degrees.  When the beans are ready, drain them and return them to the pot.  Add the remaining olive oil, onions, tomatoes, bay leaf and honey.  If using canned tomatoes, add water enough to cover the beans.  Stir everything together and bring to a simmer.  Cover the pot and place it in the oven. Bake for an hour, stirring regularly and checking to see if they need more water.  Remove from the oven and stir in the vinegar, tomato paste if using, and salt & pepper. Cover and return to the oven for about 30 minutes more until the beans are tender but not mushy.  Remove from the oven, fish out the bay leaf and stir in the dill.  Let the beans sit covered for about 15 minutes.  To serve, top the beans with a few tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese per serving and enjoy with some crusty bread.

 

Honey-as-Seasoning for Fall Harvest Bounty!

Back-to-school means were slacking on our blog posts, folks.  My apologies to those who have a hankering for honey recipes and need more ideas!

In these two recipes, the honey acts almost like a seasoning, rather than a main ingredient.

Peaches, Figs, Maytag Blue Cheese & Honey
Our dear friends, Jeff and Laurie, made time in the midst of canning tomatoes to feed me dinner last week. They asked me to bring a seasonal fruit side dish or dessert, and this is what I made.  I would work as a nice "first course," side dish, or--as we used it--dessert. It received rave reviews from Jeff, Laurie and bonus guests, Beth and Steve, who stopped by on their way home from a trip to Chicago.

Two, large-ish fresh peaches, peeled. (McConnell's Farm peaches are amazing!)
Four fresh figs, washed
4 oz Maytag blue cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup almonds, toasted and chopped
2-4 tablespoons summer honey
Just before serving, slice the peaches into 1/2 inch wedges and place in a bowl.  Cut off the stem of the figs, and quarter or "sixth," and add to bowl, and gently toss.  Crumble blue cheese over the fruit.  Add almonds and drizzle honey over top.  Gently toss and serve.  Serves 5-6 (but you might want to add another peach if you're serving six).

Baked Tomato & Cheddar Cheese Pasta
Jeff and Laurie roast their tomatoes before canning them, and gave me the idea for this casserole.  I'll confess that it doesn't look very pretty--it's definitely for a week-night family meal.  Yet it has a pleasing, comfort-food flavor and is a great use of end-of-the-season plum tomatoes.
6-8 medium fresh plum tomatoes, peeled and diced (you could use a 14-oz can of whole tomatoes)
1/2 cup diced sweet onion (like Vidalia)
4 oz sharp yellow cheddar cheese, diced in 1/2 inch dice
2 oz sharp yellow cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 pound dry pasta  (I used medium shells, you could use any smaller size cut pasta)
2 tablespoons summer honey
2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped (you could substitute fresh oregano or basil)
salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly oil a casserole or 8x8 square baking pan.  Boil pasta in salted water for about 4 or 5 minutes less than the package directs.  The pasta should be pliable, but not quite al dente, so it will soak up the tomato juices.  Place the tomatoes, onions, diced cheese & pasta in casserole and toss to combine.  Stir in honey, thyme, salt & pepper. Taste and add more seasoning if needed.  Sprinkle grated cheese on top and bake for about 30 minutes. The cheese should be thoroughly melted in to the dish and it should be bubbling. Let sit for 10 minutes so that the pasta absorbs the cheesy-tomato-y juices.  Serves 4.