White or Flageolet Bean Purée
Preparation info
Difficulty
Easy
Yield:
2 cups
Appears in
Sauces
Published 1991
Ingredients
| white or flageolet beans | ||
| baking soda | ||
| onion, chopped (optional) | ||
| carrot, chopped (optional) | ||
| celery, chopped (optional) | ||
| ham, chopped (optional) | ||
| bacon, diced (optional) | ||
| butter | ||
| large bouquet garni (optional) | ||
| cold water | ||
| assorted chopped herbs (optional) | to taste | to taste |
| salt and pepper (optional) | to taste | to taste |
Method
- Soak the beans for 2 hours in lukewarm water.
- Drain the beans and put them in a pot with the baking soda and enough water to cover. Bring the water to a simmer, cook the beans for 15 minutes, and drain.
- If using any of the optional ingredients—the onion, carrot, celery, ham, or bacon—sweat them in the butter until the vegetables have softened and/or the bacon has rendered.
- Add the beans, and any additional ingredients you’ve decided to include, and the bouquet garni.
- Cover with the water. Cook the beans, partially covered to prevent the mixture from frothing up and overflowing, at a slow simmer for an hour or until they are easily crushed between thumb and forefinger. If at any point they threaten to run dry, add more water.
- Drain the beans, remove the bouquet garni, and add the chopped herbs, if using. Purée the beans and any added ingredients in a food processor. If you want the purée to be perfectly smooth, force it though a drum sieve. Season with salt and pepper.
- Put the purée in a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap until needed.
Copyright © 2017 by James Peterson. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.