Yelloweye Pea Cassoulet

All I wanted yesterday was comfort food...not for any reason in particular, things are pretty okay right now, but I just wanted rich, warm goodness....and a basic cassoulet is what kept coming to mind. Plus, we had these bags of yelloweye peas hanging around which were just begging to be cooked up. Yelloweye peas, also called butterscotch calypso beans, are off-white beans with a brown/yellow eye. I included a picture of them from the Cook's Thesaurus (because I'm too lazy to go to the kitchen and take a picture of the ones I have...). They say you can use Great Northern beans as a substitute but, if there is any way for you to get them, I wouldn't sub them out. They cook up incredibly soft and creamy and they have a great flavor....very smooth and nutty. I've only ever seen them for sale at one store (the Market Basket in Burlington, MA) but from the info I found, they are probably more readily available the farther south you go. But anyway, they are are awesome and work well in place of the usual white beans used in cassoulets.


Yelloweye Pea Cassoulet

1 cup dry yelloweye peas or white beans, soaked for at least 5 hours
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, chopped into 1/4" pieces
2-3 small turnips, peeled and cubed into 1/4" cubes (can use potatoes)
1 cup chopped button mushrooms
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp dried thyme
pinch of ground sage
pinch of paprika
pinch of nutmeg
1-2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper (I used black, white would be better)
1 cup frozen peas
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
salt/braggs to taste

Place beans, veggies except the peas and seasonings except vinegar, nooch and salt in a stock pot. Add water just enough to cover. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low and cover. Simmer until beans are very soft and beginning to form a bit of a "gravy," adding more water only if necessary. You want there to only be a little bit of stock, like a very thick stew. You can do all of the above in a pressure cooker...it took about 20 minutes with a quick release.

Add the peas, nooch and vinegar, taste for seasoning and add salt or braggs if necessary (I ended up adding about 1 tsp braggs). If the stock seems thin, smash some of the beans against the side of the pot and then let the whole thing simmer for a bit to thicken it up.

Serve over steamed veggies (we had it over steamed red cabbage) or rice or whatever you want. I used to eat cassoulets over a thick slice of hearty bread. Serves 4.

Italian Lentil Salad

Forgive me the multiple posts, but blogger and I were having a disagreement over my antiquated dial-up and uploading photos. This recipe is from Sunday...Katie and I took advantage of the nice weather and went to Onondaga Lake State Park for a picnic. Having about 45 minutes to make something picnic-able, I threw together a batch of Italian Salad, using puy lentils. We packed some plum tomato and red pepper slices, plus a couple of oranges for dessert.

Italian Lentil (or whatever) Salad

• 2/3 c dry puy lentils
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tsp Italian herb blend
• a second clove of garlic, minced
• 2 medium carrots, chopped into 1/4" pieces
• 1 med-lrg green bell pepper, or a mix of green and red, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces
• 8-10 sundried tomato halves, chopped
• 2/3 c frozen green peas, thawed
• 2/3 c frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 3 tbsp chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1/4 c balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste

Cover the lentils, along with the chopped onion and 1 of the garlic cloves, with water and cook, partially covered, until the lentils are soft but still holding shape. Drain and place in a large bowl. Add all the remaining ingredients. Stir well to blend. Cover and refridgerate for at least an hour. The longer it sits, the better the flavor but it is good right away, too.