Meatless Monday with Vegan Brandade of White Beans with Baby Artichokes

Hello and welcome (back) to the Miratel blog for our weekly Meatless Monday recipe share. We took the Meatless Monday pledge to support reducing meat consumption 15% by eliminating it one day per week for planetary health. We consider our support of this great movement part of our CSR business strategies as it stresses the importance our food choices have on our environment.

Today we have an exciting take on a classic French dish with a brandade of white beans with baby artichokes. You may know that a “brandade most often refers to a salt cod puree popular throughout France, but in this vegetarian version, it’s a rich puree of beans topped with grilled artichokes.” Delicious. This fun twist on a classical French cuisine comes from My Recipes. Now, let’s get cooking.

Brandade of White Beans with Baby Artichokes Ingredients (6 portions):

• 6 baby artichokes (about 2 pounds)
• Cooking spray
• 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 cups chopped onion (about 1 large)
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2/3 cup water
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind
• 2 (15-ounce) cans cannellini beans or other white beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup dry rosé wine
• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 shallot, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup organic vegetable broth
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

Preparation

1. Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
2. Cut 1/4 inch off stems of artichokes; peel stems. Remove bottom leaves and tough outer leaves from each artichoke, leaving tender heart and bottom. Trim about 1 inch from tops of artichokes. Place artichokes in a Dutch oven filled two-thirds with water; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until a leaf near the center of each artichoke pulls out easily. Drain and cool. Cut in half lengthwise. Place artichoke halves, cut sides down, on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 4 minutes on each side or until golden.
3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion to pan; sauté 4 minutes or until tender. Add garlic; sauté 4 minutes or until onion is golden. Add 2/3 cup water and next 3 ingredients (through beans); cook 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Place bean mixture in a food processor; process until smooth. Keep warm.
4. Combine wine, sliced garlic, and shallot in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 4 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates. Add broth; simmer until reduced to 1/2 cup (about 3 minutes).
5. Spoon about 1/2 cup bean mixture into each of 6 shallow bowls, and top each serving with 2 artichoke halves. Drizzle about 1 1/2 tablespoons broth mixture over top of each serving; sprinkle each serving with 1 teaspoon parsley and about 1/4 teaspoon thyme.

If you’d rather not use wine, you can use a good quality vegetable stock in its place. Also, if you are pressed for time you can use canned artichokes. Serve with a crustini made of your favourite crusty bread brushed with olive oil and broiled or grilled along with a fresh green salad with a light vinaigrette.

If you haven’t already, we encourage you to visit the Meatless Monday website and join us in taking the pledge today. Spread the word at home and at work and promote CSR business initiatives to make your green call centre, office, factory, shop, restaurant or salon even greener.

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Miratel Solutions is a Toronto call centre, eBusiness, and letter shop mail house specializing in professional fundraising services including telephone fundraising, online fundraising, lottery services, donation caging, donation processing and other donor management services. We are committed to our CSR business values in all contact centre services and mail house operations and advancing the missions of the nonprofits we proudly serve.