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Serves four.

1 lb dried cannellini beans
2 Tbsp olive oil
4-5 fresh sage leaves
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 black peppercorns
Salt

Beans with sausage
5 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 pounds sweet Italian sausage
4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
3-4 canned plum tomatoes, chopped
Pinch red pepper flakes
1 cup tomato pure
Salt (about 2 teaspoons) and freshly ground black pepper

2 Drain the beans. Add 3 quarts of water back to the beans in the pot. Add 2 Tbsp olive oil, the sage leaves, 2 cloves crushed garlic, and the peppercorns. Cover, bring to a simmer on medium heat, and simmer beans for one hour. Season to taste with salt. Lower the heat so that the beans are barely simmering. Cook for an additional 1-2 hours, or until beans are just tender. Note that the fresher the beans the shorter the cooking time, the older the beans the longer. Remove from heat and let cool in cooking liquid. Set aside 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid, drain the rest from the beans.

3 Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat. Remove sausages from their casings (if the sausage has come in casings), and fry on the skillet until lightly browned, about 3-4 minutes. Do not stir that much and do not crowd the pan, or the sausage won’t brown well. Add the reserved bean cooking liquid, 4 Tbsp olive oil, garlic, chopped tomatoes, and red pepper flakes, stirring occasionally until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.

4 Add the reserved beans and tomato pure. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer a few minutes longer, stirring gently, until sausage is cooked through and the sauce has thickened. Be careful not to break up the beans.

Serves 4-8.

2 While roasting the beans, combine the balsamic vinegar, honey, thyme, and garlic slices in a small bowl.

3 After the beans and onions have roasted for 10 minutes, remove from oven. Drizzle the vinegar honey mixture over the beans and onions; use tongs to coat evenly. Put back in the oven and continue to roast until onions and beans are dark golden brown in spots and beans have started to shrivel, about 12-15 minutes longer.

Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to serving dish, sprinkle with toasted chopped walnuts, and serve.

Serves 4.

• 2 tablespoons of olive, grapeseed, or safflower oil
• dash of chili pepper flakes
• 25 brussels sprouts
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of black bean garlic sauce
• ground black pepper

2 Place the oil and chili flakes into a large skillet and place over medium-high heat. Add the brussels sprouts to the pan and cook for about 3-5 minutes or until the sprouts begin to brown a bit. They may absorb all the oil, if they do just add another 1/2 tablespoon of oil.

3 Add the black bean garlic sauce and stir until all the brussels sprouts are well coated. Add a pinch of ground black pepper (the sauce is already salty so you probably won’t need any salt). Cook for about 30 more seconds. Take off heat and serve immediately.

Serves 4.

• 1/2 pound wax beans
• Several mint leaves
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Salt

2 Prepare the beans by cutting off and discarding the tips and ends. Snap the beans in half, if necessary, to have pieces about 2 inches in length.

3 15 minutes before serving bring an inch of water in a saucepan to a boil. Place the beans in a steamer basket in the saucepan. Cover and cook, until tender, about 10-15 minutes. Check for doneness after about 8 minutes or so. If a fork easily goes through them, they’re done.

4 Remove beans from pan and place them into a serving bowl. Use a strainer to drizzle the mint-infused olive oil over the beans. Sprinkle salt over the beans to taste. (Fleur de sel would work really well with this dish.) Chop up a few more mint leaves to add as garnish.

Serves 3-4.

2 Cook the beans in water.
Pressure Cooker method Put beans into a 4 quart pressure cooker with a 15 lb weight. Fill up the pressure cooker with water, up to the line that indicates the capacity for the pot. Cook for 30-35 minutes – until the beans are soft and the skins are barely breaking open.
Regular method Put beans into a pot and cover beans with at least 3 inches of water – about 3 quarts for 2 1/2 cups of dry beans. Bring to a boil and then lower heat to simmer, covered, for about 2 1/2 hours. The cooking time will vary depending on the batch of beans you have. The beans are done when they are soft and the skin is just beginning to break open.

Strain the beans from the cooking water.

3 Add the onions and lard/fat/oil to a wide, sturdy (not with a flimsy stick-free lining) frying pan on medium high heat. Cook onions until translucent. (Note the onions are optional, you can skip them if you want.) Add the strained beans and about a 1/4 cup of water to the pan. Using a potato masher, mash the beans in the pan, while you are cooking them, until they are a rough pure. Add more water if necessary to keep the fried beans from getting too dried out. Add salt to taste. Add a few slices of cheddar cheese, or some (1/2 cup) grated cheddar cheese if you want. When beans are heated through (and optional cheese melted) the beans are ready to serve.

Note that many recipes call for soaking the beans overnight and discarding the soaking liquid. We don’t. We discard the cooking liquid and just add some water back into the frying pan when we are frying the beans.