Half time, quick!

Did the WC2014 change your routines so far?
Over here I notice certain tendency towards quick meals for dinner.

Today I whipped up a dish which is rich in protein and accompanies half a a pint of beer like no other dish:

Altered* White Beans in Basil Tomato Sauce by Attila Hildmann 

( * the original recipe does NOT come with beer, nor nacho chips!!!)

Once again I must say that one of the major assets of Attila Hildmann's recipes is the flexibilty: you can alter almost any measurement of the ingredients and still end up with a wonderful dish.

My versions comes with 5 times as much tofu as the recipe (simply because tofu sizes are so large and I don't want to keep an opened tofu-package in the fridge). The other ingredients were doubled (two onions instead one, 4 pinches of tumeric instead of two ...).

Oh, how I love a big heavy knife! 

Also, I used tomato sauce instead of tomato paste, because I thought I did run out of tomato paste. The tomato sauce equals tomato paste + water nicely!
And I even I use dried basil and add it early, instead of the fresh basil, because I hardly ever have fresh basil at home.
Plus: today I even used a can with mixed beans, including chickpeas, because I did not find any white beans in my pantry.

You can tell, this is the perfect recipe for a relaxed kitchen session during half time! :-)


This is how it goes:

toast
1 tablespoon of sunflower seeds in a dry skillet and put aside

heat
1 tablespoon olive oil

add
2 ounces/ 50gr smoked tofu, diced

fry
the tofu for approx. 3 minutes

add
1 red onion, chopped
2 pinches of tumeric

cook for approx. 2 minutes

 right before adding ....

1/3 cup / 80gr  tomato paste
6 tablespoons mineral water (of Viennese tab water, which is actually mineral water ;-))
1 can of beans
1 teaspoon agave syrup
as much dried basil as you like (or fresh basil instead, right before serving!)

stir and heat for 2 minutes:

Place the beans on a plate, garnish with
fresh basil, roasted sunflower seeds and the sliced pieces of a peeled carrot

SERVE

I did not quite make it during the half time break but we are still playing the preliminary round, aren't we?

This fellow flighs by as soon as he/she senses action in my kitchen. Today he/she did not appreciate the fact, that I was way too busy to feed him/her while I was cooking. 

During half time you better cook fast!

The reason, why this dish became one of my favourite dishes from Attila Hildmann's book "Vegan for Fit" dates back to my childhood. Baked beans build a huge part of my emotional gourmet childhood long-term memories. To be more precise: all Heinz cans trigger my emotions. Tomato sauce with noodles, baked beans, tomato soup, ravioli. This was home. (*yikes* ;-))

Over the years my taste changed, today the canned food taste too salty and way too sweet. I am glad I found a simpe recipe to do my own version of the beloved bakes beans, with less salt and way less sweetness. These beans get some sweetness, too. I don't mind a teaspoon of sweetness when tomatoes play the leading role on a plate. Attila Hildmann uses agave syrup as sweetener, which is fine for me.

On with the next match!
 
Paula