Crostini Two Ways: Bruschetta and Navy Bean Dip

We had a delicious multigrain baguette in the house, as well as lots of leftover beans from my soup experiment, so I decided to make crostini with a couple of toppings.

Crostini is really just a fancy name for thinly sliced, toasted bread.  This recipe is a great guide.  I very thinly sliced the multigrain baguette, put the slices on a baking sheet and brushed them with olive oil, and sprinkled on the black pepper.  I let the slices toast for about 17 minutes until they were golden and toasty.

For the two toppings, I first decided to do a traditional bruschetta topping.  Since I think this mix benefits from some marinating time, I did this earlier this afternoon while my soup was cooking.  I diced a package of cherry tomatoes, finely diced a medium red onion and a made a chiffonade with few handfuls of basil.  I then stirred in three minced garlic cloves, a generous pour of olive oil, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.  I was worried that I overdid it with the garlic, but the ratio ended up being fine.

For the second topping, the navy bean dip, I broke out the food processor.  First, I pulverized four cloves of garlic.  I then added in three generous cups of the cooked navy beans and a handful of curly parsley and pulsed the mixture until the beans were somewhat blended. 

Next, I added the juice of one lemon.  A trick I use when juicing a lemon is to put a mesh strainer directly over the bowl (or, in this case, the processor).  As you squeeze the lemon, the strainer will catch the seeds and the pulp, and all of your lemon juice goes right in the recipe.

I then seasoned the bean mixture with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and gave it another pulse to mix.  After scraping down the bowl, I poured some olive oil down the small feed tube, pulsing the mixture again to combine.

I then served the two toppings along with the crostini.  We enjoyed both toppings, but especially scarfed down the bean dip, which husband said was "incredibly fresh."   I saw him licking the spoon later, so I know he wasn't lying!  The bean dip would also be nice with veggies, and would provide a nice protein kick.  I think it would also be a nice sandwich spread or wrap filling, given how nice and creamy it is.

Vegetable Soup with Navy Beans

Wow, was my last blog December 18?  Holy cow.  Let me give you a quick recap of the past few weeks - our niece arrived December 19, then it was Hanukkah, husband's birthday, making a few meals (nothing I haven't blogged before) for my brother & sister-in-law, volunteering on Christmas Day at Washington Hebrew Home, a road trip with the in-laws and grandmother-in-law to visit the new baby, home yoga practice and lots and lots of naps to recover from it all.

With all this busyness and craziness, we decided we could use some serious comfort food.  And what's better comfort food in the winter than homemade soup?  Better yet, a hearty, vegan friendly vegetable and bean soup?

I've been wanting to play with dried beans for awhile.  Sure, they're a heck of a lot less convenient than canned, but the trade-offs are worth it, especially when it comes to texture and flavor.  Also, the variety of dried beans at our local Whole Foods is amazing.  They have a number of heirloom beans that I'm really looking forward to trying.  So, if you are able to plan your meals ahead, I really encourage you to give dried beans a try!



For this soup, we decided to go with a simple navy bean.  Fun fact - these beans got their name not because of their color (they're off-white), but "because they were a staple food of the  U.S. Navy in the early 20th Century."  Like other legumes, navy beans are an excellent source of fiber and protein, and are also a "good source of folate, manganese and vitamin B1 as well as the minerals phosphorus, copper, magnesium and iron."

Beans soaking

Beans cooked

I used VeggieTable.com as a guide to preparing the beans .  After picking through the three cups of dried beans, I soaked them for eight hours in nine cups of water.  I then boiled them in the soaking liquid for ten minutes, skimming foam off the top.  After ten minutes, I reduced the heat to a simmer, added a generous teaspoon of salt, and simmered the beans covered for one hour.  My husband and I tasted the plain beans when they were done and agreed that we vastly preferred them to canned!  We then put them in the fridge to use in today's soup.

One of my favorite soups is minestrone, which traditionally includes vegetables, beans and pasta.  According to Wikipedia, minestrone translates to "the big soup" and is usually made from whatever ingredients you have in the fridge.  What I ended up making was minestrone inspired, as we used up a lot of what we had in the fridge.  But, I elected to leave out the pasta at the last minute, so I'm hesitant to call it a true minestrone.

Behold the aftermath of the chopping!

To start the soup, I diced one large white onion, half a bunch of celery, three yukon gold potatoes and two zucchini.  I also sliced up several handfuls of baby carrots and minced four cloves of garlic.  I sauteed all the veg in olive oil until it was translucent, about ten minutes.  When the good brown bits started to stick to the bottom of the pot, I poured in a little bit of vegetable broth to deglaze the mix.

I then added in a large can of whole tomatoes and their liquid, breaking up the tomatoes with a spoon.  Then, I added three cups of the cooked beans.  Using the neat little herb mill my sister-in-law gave me recently, I ground up some sage and rosemary and mixed that in, along with fresh thyme, dried oregano, sea salt and black pepper.  Finally, I added a carton and a half of veggie broth.  Once the soup came to a boil, I let it simmer for an hour, which made our entire apartment, and probably the hallway, smell like yummy vegetable soup.

We had the soup for lunch today with some crusty bread.  It was warm, hearty and had a nice kick from the garlic and pepper!  Better yet, we have tons of leftovers, and I think it will taste even better reheated, as the flavors will continue to combine.