I love beans. I know not everyone does, but they are a staple in my world. This is one of my favorite bean dishes. I like to make a big batch and keep it around for a quick and satisfying lunch during the week. It is lovely with a green salad but I eat it by itself as a quick lunch.

Ingredients

  • 1 Pound dried white beans; Navy beans or similar. Or use canned beans and skip steps 1 and 2.
  • 10-15 fresh sage leaves
  • 2 cups vegetable stock (Chicken stock would also be ok, but I want the olive oil to be the star fat in this dish.)
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 6 tbsp or so olive oil
  • Black pepper (I like to use a lot of fresh ground black pepper in this, you use what tastes right to you.)
  • Salt

Directions

  1. Rinse the beans, cover with water, and let them soak overnight.
  2. Drain the beans and place them in a pan (or an Instapot). Cover with the vegetable stock, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook about an hour until the beans are soft. You may need to add additional liquid. Beans can be tricky.
  3. Cover the bottom of a large frying pan with about half of the olive oil and turn on the heat quite low. Add the minced garlic and tear in a few of the sage leaves into the pan. Allow them to simmer gently until the garlic starts to color and get very fragrant.
  4. Add the cook beans and the remaining sage and fold gently. Allow the beans to simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring gently, folding the beans over so that they combine well with the oil and the herbs.
  5. When the beans are cooked through and extra liquid is absorbed, mix in the additional olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste.

The energy of this dish is strengthening, both physically and energetically. It provides a solid, satisfying meal that just brings strength and energy through your limbs when you’re feeling run down. Not sick, just run down and worn out. Both warming and grounding, it helps to relight the fire on my belly to get back on track when I’m feeling overwhelmed, uninspired, or just having trouble focusing on what needs doing. This helps me banish indecision and insecurity to power through to the end. It is also, for me, comfort food.

 

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