Cozy Adzuki Beans with Red Wine, Onions and Thyme

Adzuki Beans stewed with onions, garlic, red wine and thyme taste better than they look.

Today’s recipe is brought to you by the Keen Kitchen Pantry! Want to make something cheap and nutritious that practically cooks itself? Whip up a batch of dried adzuki beans! You don’t need to soak them. Just put them in a pot and let them do their thing while you get on with your life.

I make a big pot of adzukis from time to time and freeze portions in tupperware. Pulling out a container of “homemade” beans feels very… dare I say luxurious? Adzuki beans are pretty mild and go with lots of things. Also, they are apparently easier to digest than other beans and are little nutritional powerhouses. Plus, they are soooooo cute.

I hesitated to post this recipe as this dish is, let’s face it, kind of ugly. But it is really tasty and, once the beans are cooked, comes together in about 20 minutes. If your freezer is a treasure trove of frozen beans, you can have this on the table in the time it takes to watch The Big Bang Theory (oh, how I miss you)!

I serve this as the sort of “meat” part of a meal, alongside a green vegetable and rice. I think it would be good with polenta too.

Add some mushrooms to increase the meatiness and earthy flavour of this cozy feel-good bean dish.

Steamy beanies.

This time around, I decided to cook 3 cups of dried adzuki beans. Rinse the beans and place in a large pot with 3 cups of water for every cup of dried beans. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to minimum and cook until softened. I salted mine and added a sprinkle of dulse flakes for good measure. They took around an hour, but I wasn’t really pay attention. May have been an hour and a half.

Ingredients:

3 cups cooked adzuki beans, drained

2 tbsp olive oil (or less if you’re anti-fat)

1 medium white onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp poultry seasoning (does not contain poultry. It is a mix of seasonings.)

1/4 cup red wine

1/4 cup broth or water

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat olive oil on med-low. Cook onions until softened, around 10 minutes.

Add thyme and poultry seasoning and stir until fragrant.

Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.

Add adzuki beans, red wine and broth. Lower heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

You say Fall? I say Beans!

Serves 4 as a side dish.