Go Back
Print
White Bean Stew with Carrots, Fennel and Peas
Total Time
2 hrs 30 mins
 
Course: Bean Stew
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Ingredients
  • 2 C. dried white beans about 1 pound
  • 1 medium onion peeled and halved and stuck with two cloves
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 small sprig rosemary
  • Salt and pepper
  • 3 T. extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 large white onion medium diced--about 1 1/2 C.
  • 3 celery stalks medium diced, about 1 C.
  • 6 orange carrots medium diced, about 1 1/2 C.
  • 1 or 2 fennel bulbs medium diced, about 1 1/2 C.
  • 1 t. crushed fennel seed
  • 1/2 t. red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 t. minced garlic
  • 1 bunch small yellow carrots peeled and left whole or halved lengthwise
  • 1 C. fresh or frozen peas
  • 3 T. roughly-chopped parsley
  • 2 T. roughly-chopped mint
  • 1/2 t. grated lemon zest
  • 1/2 serrano chile seeds removed and finely chopped
  • 4 large eggs boiled 9 minutes, chilled in ice water, peeled and halved
Instructions
  1. Put beans in a large pot with onion halves, bay leaf and rosemary. Add enough cold water to cover the ingredients by about two inches. Cover the pot and bring the water to a boil. Reduce the heat, shift the lid on the pot until it is slightly ajar, and simmer the beans. Check the beans regularly to be sure that you maintain about one inch of water above the beans. After approximately forty minutes of simmering, stir 2 t. salt into the beans and continue to cook until the beans are tender. This will take approximately one and a half hours depending upon the age of the dried beans. Alternatively (and more quickly), you could cook the beans in your Instant Pot. When beans are cooked, set aside to cool.
  2. Heat oil in a large skillet and sauté diced onion, celery, carrots, and fennel. Season with salt and pepper and add fennel seed, red pepper flakes and garlic to the mixture. Continue to cook this mixture until the vegetables are softened. This takes approximately ten minutes. Lower your heat as necessary. Be careful not to burn the garlic or otherwise brown the vegetables. Set aside.
  3. Simmer yellow carrots in a pan of salted water until they are tender but firm. This will take about five minutes. Remove carrots from water, drain, pat dry and cool. Set aside.
  4. Put peas into a pan of salted water and simmer for about two minutes (or less if you are using frozen peas). Drain the peas and add them to the sautéed vegetables.
  5. To assemble the dish, heat the vegetable mixture over medium high heat. Add drained beans. (Discard the onions but reserve a cup of the cooking liquid from the beans.) Continue cooking until the mixture is evenly heated. As you are heating the vegetable mixture, add reserved cooking liquid to keep the mixture moist. Add salt to taste. Add cooked yellow carrots and let them heat in the mixture.
  6. To serve, either serve this dish spread on a platter and garnished with the mint/parsley/chile mixture and the halved boiled eggs or serve over rice in a pretty rice bowl. Just before serving, drizzle with a bit of olive oil.
Recipe Notes

I used Rancho Gordo pretty yellow eye beans in this recipe. The original recipe simply calls for dried white beans.

Be generous with the mint/parsley/chile garnish. The fresh flavors of the garnish elevate this recipe to high level of taste.