White Beans - The Geriatric Gourmet

White Beans………and or
Cassoulet.
This is cheap and by gumpty, it's a good’ern!
Also, if you want to fancy it up, you can turn
it into a Cassoulet or Alubias Blancas con
Chorizo or L'Escarole con Salsiccia

italiana ed i Fagioli Bianchi or similar such
happy things.
Ingredients:
1. A bag (8 oz) of White Beans
2. Ham Bones or chunks of Ham
3. Black Pepper
4. Garlic
5. Olive Oil
6. A can of Tomatoes………..optional

1. Admire these things.
2. Acquire a bag of Great Northern, or
similar, White Beans.

3. Soak them in water, as instructed on the
bag, overnight.

4. Bang a big gob of Garlic with a can of
Tomatoes. This will make the Peeling slip
off easily.

5. Coarsely chop the Garlic.

7. And scoot it off into a nice blue pot.

8. Pour in some Olive
Oil………………enough to cover the
Garlic. I put the fire on low so I can be
busy with other stuff and not burn the
Garlic. Sometimes, I wonder off into the
mist and I don’t want to burn anything.

9. When the Garlic just barely begins to
brown a little……………..no more.

10. Dump in the Ham Bones and cook
them a little…………………just long
enough that they begin to brown a little
and flavor the Oil.
11. Then dump in the Beans with the
water that they were soaked in. you
could add Chicken or other Broth here if
you want but I find that the Garlic Olive
Oil and Ham give plenty of flavor.

12. Dump in some Black Pepper.

13. Cover the nice blue pot.

14. Put the fire on about medium, or lower,
and simmer it all until the Beans
become soft and remember, a penny
saved is a drop in the bucket.

15. You could add a can of Tomatoes if
you want but I didn’t this time.
These Beans are really yummy just like
this but if you like, you could now turn
them into something fancy like a
Cassoulet:

Ingredients:
13. A bag (8 oz) of White Beans
14. Ham Bones or chunks of Ham
15. Black Pepper
16. Garlic
17. Olive Oil
18. A can of Tomatoes………..optional
19. Sausage…..Cassoulet is a French
thing so it calls for French Sausage but I

often have German (Bratwurst,
Knockwurst etc.) in the fridge so I’m
using it here……….but bewares:
If you use Wurst, don’t put it in until last or
it will burst open like this. if you use other

Sausage, brown it in Olive Oil before you
put it in the pot.
Cassoulet often has a lot of other stuff in it
like Duck and Chicken but this one doesn’t.
20. Celery
21. Carrots
22. Parsley and or your favorite
herbs……..e.g. Thyme, Oregano, Bay
Leaf etc. I once lived in a Bay laurel
Tree in California.
23. I rarely put salt in anything because
if you put too much, you can’t take it
back out and some folks worry about
high blood pressure………..this is
disputed but to avoid the fuss I just put
Salt & Pepper on the table.
24. Onion
25. Chicken or Vegetable Broth

Don’t worry bout those two
Grapefruit…….they were for other stuff.

Back at the beginning you might have added
an Onion but it won’t matter as long as you
get it in when everything is cooking.

1. Cassoulet usually calls for some Broth.

2. I like things to look like what they are
so I often cut things like Celery and
Carrots in big, recognizable, pieces.

3. Add them to the beans, put the fire on
medium and simmer it all for awhile.

4. Just a little while before serving, add the
Sausage, cover the pot and cook it all
just long enough for the Sausage to get
hot………….not too long or the
Sausage will pop open.

5. You could mix in a can of Stewed
Tomatoes if you want but I didn’t this
time.

6. I usually don’t put my Parsley in until
just before guests arrive because I like
for it to keep some of its color.

I like Pierogi with my Beans and remember,
this could all turn out to be more fun than a
bucket of toads.
Bon Appétit!