White Bean and Tomato Stew

As a Vegetarian Through Poverty (if I can't afford to real [ie organic] meat, I don't eat meat at all), I usually have a fair stash of canned beans in my pantry. A long time ago, I made the more authentic version of this recipe which includes slab bacon, but I omitted the chicken. The bacon lent a beautifully smokey and complex flavor to the dish, but I find that even without it, the beans and stewed tomatoes work really well together. Even such a simple dish has a well-developed flavor, in part due to the stewed tomatoes. If you cook this dish for a few hours (which is highly desired), the beans become very buttery, almost sinfully so.

Broiled Salmon atop a bed of White Bean and Tomato Stew, garnished with Garlic Green Beans.
Very colorful and nutritious!

White Bean and Tomato Stew

recipe loosely based on this one


Ingredients:

2 T olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2, 15-oz cans cannellini (white) beans, drained and rinsed
2, 14-oz can stewed tomatoes, with juice

In a medium sauce pan on medium heat, heat the olive oil and saute the onions until soft and lightly browned. Add the beans and canned tomatoes. Simmer on medium-low heat for at least an hour to tenderize the beans and develop a more complex flavor. Serve immediately or refrigerate and reheat a few days later.

This dish is great served with a nice wedge of cheese and hunk of crusty bread!