Beans and Weeds

My challenge here is to convince you how lovely a simple bowl of beans can be.  This dish is tasty, satisfying, and loaded with nutrition.  It's also, with varying versions, a staple in many countries around the world.  This one in particular is commonly eaten in Greece and Cyprus. 

Another great thing about this dish is there are no boundaries with the ingredients.  You can use just about any kind of bean and many different healthy vegetables that perhaps you never thought of using before.

Ingredients: 

- About 3 cups of Black eyed peas

- Beet greens from six beets cut into 3 inch pieces and washed

- 1 red onion diced

- 1 handfull of flat leaf parsley chopped

- Olive oil

- Fresh lemon

- Salt

Directions:

Fill a large pot with water, set to boil and season with salt as if you were cooking a box of pasta.  Add the beans and cook until they are tender, removing impurities from the surface in the meantime.  You may need to add more water at times due to evaporation. Once the beans are cooked, add the greens, cook for another five minutes and remove from the heat.  The dish is done.

Mix the onion and parsley together for garnish.  Dress each serving with a generous drizzle of olive oil and squeeze half a lemon.  Let each person add their own salt and garnish to their own liking.

Beet greens actually have more nutrients than the beetroot itself containing large amounts of iron, calcium, and vitamins A and C.  Beans of course, have lots of fibre, protein, minerals and vitamins.  Enjoy a bowl of beans and weeds and you will feel -I quote my father.."Strong like a bull". 

Possible bean varities to use:                                           

- Navy beans

- Northern beans

- Small white beans

- Black eyed peas

- Broad beans

Possible leafy vegetable varieties to use:

- Swiss chard

- Beet Greens

- Dandelion Greens

- Amarinth

- Kale

- Endives

With Love,

Theo