Smoky, Creamy Beans & Eggs
Hold the eggs and make it vegan.
For the first time in my 41 years on this earth, I have borderline high cholesterol. I blame it on life’s stressors encouraging me to hit the late night Ben & Jerry’s far too many nights (and maybe a few other indulgences).
Blame aside, I’m grateful for my recent doctor’s visit because it was the swift kick in the ass I needed to jump back into cooking more of what made me fall in love with cooking in the first place: plants (sometimes with an egg on top).
Like the rest of the internet, my love for beans has no bounds. My Guatemalan-born bean-loving husband is always surprised that they don’t make me gassy—he came to America with the perception of the American diet being rather beanless and, broadly speaking, he’s not wrong. But this bod has been eating them for years and they not only agree with me, they make me feel nourished and fill me up way longer than most foods.
This morning I woke up craving them for breakfast, so I checked what I had in my fridge, whipped up this quick recipe, tossed some fried eggs on top, messed up one of the eggs, and embraced the imperfection. As with most of my recipes, this one is a loose “recipe” brought to you with the intention that you can make it your own.
Recipe for one to two people
Ingredients
Here’s what I used—notes on how to use what you’ve got/what you love:
1 can cannellini beans (or any other bean that you enjoy—personally, I wouldn’t use chickpeas here. They’re too firm)
2 red scallions, chopped (or any combo of onions—shallots, red onion, yellow onion would all be great here)
Smoked paprika and garlic powder (or seasonings of your choice—if you don’t like things smoky, skip the paprika. You could even add something like cumin here. Garam Masala would be a fun one and add a hint of sweetness. Burlap & Barrel make some of my favorite spices and they source all of their spices directly from farmer cooperatives and small farms.
1-2 cloves of garlic, grated on a microplane
Nutritional yeast, about 1/2 a cup or a little more for cheesier taste
EVOO, S&P
1-4 Eggs, depending upon your hunger level and number of people you’re serving (up to two with this one)
How to make it
Heat a pan or small dutch oven with a bit of olive oil (let’s say 1 Tbsp)
Toss in your scallions or whatever onion variety you’re using and sprinkle with a good punch of salt and a good crack of pepper. Sauté over medium heat for a few minutes until softened. It’s ok if they brown a bit, but we’re not really looking for much caramelization here.
Once the onions are softened, toss in your can of beans with the liquid and season with pinch of salt and crack of pepper + your spices. Add a splash of water (just fill your bean can with some water and toss it in)
Let that all simmer for a few minutes and then stir in your nutritional yeast + your grated garlic.
Let simmer on low until thickened and meanwhile make your eggs (if topping your dish with them) any way you’d like.
Remove beans from heat, plate, and top with your eggs.
Enjoy for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
