If you're making the beans to use for the soup or the sausages, be sure to save the cooking liquid.
1 pound dried cannellini (white kidney beans)
8 cups room-temperature water
The sweetness of the apples blends perfectly with slightly bitter Brussels sprouts to create this satisfying side dish.
When guests arrive in apple season with a few hours notice, you’ll probably have these ingredients on hand. The assembly takes little time. The crisp is ample in the pan and the topping turns chewy and crisp.
Classic potato salads range from the American picnic favorite made with mayo and little else, to the more elegant French version with warm waxy potatoes, a good vinaigrette and herbs. Both of these have their place, but for those wanting something less traditional, look to the Southwest. Start with sweet potatoes, which are in season, beautiful and cheap, and roast them with red onion and olive oil.
Adapted from Cesare Casella Time: 45 minutes
Goes great with: Salad of butter lettuce, radicchio, roasted pears, and toasted walnuts. What to drink: Red Burgundy or Pinot Gris.
In some Italian-American kitchens, the traditional pasta e fagioli is pronounced pasta fajool. One of the authentic versions of the dish begins with cranberry beans, also known as shell beans, and in Italy as borlotti beans. They have red and white marbled pots, really stunning, and they're labor intensive to peel. Each pod -- don't get the green ones because the beans aren't ripe -- yields 3 or 4 beans. Watch a movie or daydream (I prefer the latter).
We bought beautiful native green beans and hearty greens at Wilson Farms in Lexington this weekend. There are also plenty of root vegetables just coming into season. I packed a baking dish with butternut squash, turnips, red potatoes, carrots, red onion, radishes, and mushrooms and roasted them for 1 1/2 hours. This isn't a dish that caramelizes the veggies (you need to cover the pan so the roots cook through), but the results are homey and satisfying.
Enchiladas are a blank slate. They can be filled with anything that suits your fancy, from plain cheese to tender, long-braised -- or grilled or stewed -- meats. Hearty vegetables and beans are among my favorite fillings. Under a blanket of chili sauce and cheese, enchiladas are substantial to begin with, so a veggie filling can lighten things a little. I usually turn to mushrooms (loaded with garlic), potatoes, and greens.