Baked Adzuki Beans With Eggplant and Tomatoes
"This isn't quite a stew, a chili, or a ratouille, yet it reminds me a bit of each. You'll just have to try it for yourself and see what you think. Whatever you want to call it, we call it tasty. Can be served as a side dish as well, but we like it on it's own accompanied by a nice loaf of a crusty bread. Plan ahead, the preparation time does not include three hour soaking time for the beans."
- Ready In:
- 1hr 30mins
- Ingredients:
- 14
- Serves:
-
6
ingredients
- 1 cup dried adzuki beans
- 1 bouquet garni (thyme, parsley, and bayleaf)
- 2 small eggplants, unpeeled,and cut in 1 inch cubes
- kosher salt or sea salt
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 1⁄2 cups canned chopped tomatoes
- 1 cup chicken stock (or 1 bouillon cube dissolved in 1 cup water)
- 1⁄2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1⁄4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 4 tablespoons fresh basil, shredded
- 1⁄2 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
directions
- Pick over and discard any damaged beans or stones; rinse the beans, then place in a sauce pan adding plenty of water to cover; soak for a minimum of three hours (can be all day).
- Drain the beans and return to the sauce pan with enough water to cover by 2 inches.
- Add the bouquet garni and bring water to the boil; reduce heat and simmer uncovered until the beans are tender (20 to 40 minutes); drain and set aside, discarding the bouquet garni.
- Place the eggplant cubes in a colander and sprinkle with kosher or sea salt; let drain for 30 minutes, then rinse and pat dry with paper towels (this step can be done while the beans are boiling).
- Pre-heat oven to 375°F.
- In a large frying pan over medium heat, heat 4 TBS of the olive oil then add the eggplant and saute until lightly browned on all sides (5 to 10 minutes).
- When the eggplant has browned, transfer to a large baking dish (I use an oval 35 cm X 24 cm).
- In the same frying pan, heat the remaining 2 TBS olive oil and saute the onion until it begins to soften but not brown (about 5 minutes).
- Add in the garlic and continue to saute 1 minute.
- Add the tomatoes, stock, allspice, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper to taste; simmer slowly for 5 minutes, then transfer the mixture to the baking dish.
- Add the beans and the basil to the baking dish, and mix everything well.
- Sprinkle with the parmesan cheese and bake until golden, about 20 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
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Reviews
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Blah. Did not enjoy this at all. I, too, was looking for a way to use up adzuki beans I bought to make Japanese sweet bean cakes. I am not a vegetarian but this was one of the few recipes I could find using these beans. This recipe took a great deal of time but it lacked depth. Maybe a vegetarian with limited protein choices may think differently but no one in my family of five liked it (and I do have one veggie teen - but I do not make special dishes for her, she cooks for herself). I even tried the panko mixed with parm on the top as one reviewer suggested but that was just a waste of expensive parm.............<br/>To each his (or her) own I guess. -
Very nutritious and healthy! Even my 2 year old ate it all, this is the first time he agreed to eat beans! I didn't have the cheese and the thyme on hand, but it didn't matter. Thank you! -
I stumbled upon this recipe hoping to find a new way to cook my Adzuki beans and what a pleasant surprise! I took the advise of Moyni to mix breadcrumbs (I used Panko crumbs) with the Parm chz for the topping and that added a nice balance of texture and flavor. -
I just made it...eating it right now! I was looking for a recipe with Adzuki beans (new to me) and found that many of the remaining ingredients were readily available from my garden, so I decided to give it a shot. My only deviation from the recipe was to use two cups of fresh tomatoes (what I had on hand) instead of canned, and I cooked them for a couple of extra minutes. I soaked the beans while I was at work; about 10 hours. I wouldn't call it a pretty dish, but it smelled great while cooking, and tastes pretty good too--very hearty and savory. I will try to make this again when the weather cools off a bit, since there's a good amount of cooking time involved, and it made my kitchen a bit warm for an August night. If you are deciding to try this with bread or over rice, I'd definitely recommend a chunk of crusty French bread to take care of the juice, and give it a bit of crunch.
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This stuff is seriously good. I've eaten it alone, with rice, and even scrambled with some eggs. Love the addition of allspice. Wish I still had some left over. Thanks for the great recipe!
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Tweaks
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I had never had adzuki beans, so did not have the foggiest idea how to prepare them. A friend mentioned ingredients similar to those in this recipe, but he used sweet potato instead of eggplant. I decided to incorperate 2 sweet potatos diced in 1/2 inch pieces and reduce the eggplant to just one. It was delicous. I had friends over last week, and they are still raving about it. This recipe was very easy to prepare.
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
FlemishMinx
Belgium
I am an American married to a Belgian, and have lived in Belgium since December 1999. Cooking is my major hobby. I'm also an avid reader, but I have difficulty finding the time. I love to travel. Since moving to Europe I've been lucky enough to have had the opportunity to go a couple of times per year to Paris, as well as having visited London, Rome, Florence, Naples, Amsterdam, and of course Brussels and Antwerp. I've seen at least parts of most regions of France, as well as parts of Germany, Austria, a great deal of Switzerland, Slovenia, Croatia, Luxembourg, and Monaco. I'm absolutely in love with the Bay of Naples and Sorrento coast areas of Italy, which my husband and I recently re-visited on a trip that included Rome, Puglia, Umbria and Marche. I'm still looking forward to Ireland, Spain, Portugal, the Czech Republic . . . the list is too long ! One of the bonuses of travel is getting to taste the local cuisine, and afterward trying to figure out how to duplicate it at home.
I think cooking is one of the nicest things a person can do for someone they love (including themself!)
I had to submit a picture with me and my cat, Sophie, as she insists on sitting in my lap when I'm sitting at the computer. If you are wondering what all that stuff hanging on the wall behind us in the photo is, it is just a small part of my husband's military medal collection. He was appalled by my posting this picture-- Our study is the messiest room in our house (thank god!)
