6.28.10 Butter Beans with Olives & Roasted Tomatoes
One of my biggest fears, are those interview questions which ask you categorize your strengths or personality into quantities—"What are your 3 greatest strengths?", "Describe yourself in 5 words”, or “What is your greatest achievement?”. It is a blessing I am in the creative field and have never had to endure such mundane interview torture, since I break out in a cold sweat just thinking about it.
If I had the ability to categorize myself in just 3 or 5 words, I would perhaps find myself quite boring. For better or worse, I like to change my mind. And I like the fact that I like to change my mind. I am ever-evolving, rarely complacent, and always doing and learning.
However, I am going to go on record of saying that roasted tomatoes are in the top 5 of my favorite foods. Right up there with pad thai and salted caramel. Come summer, every cherry tomato that makes its way through my front door will suffer the fate of being roasted, and more often-than-not popped into my mouth just moments after exiting the oven. There is no other choice as far as I am concerned.
As for those other two spots? I reserve the right to leave them free for a whirlwind romance with figs or baked brie, if I so please. Oh, and to change my mind the following week.
Butter Beans with Olives & Roasted Tomatoes
serves 4
1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise (apx 2 c)
3 T olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
1 shallot, sliced thin
2 15-oz cans butter beans, drained and rinsed
1 t fresh thyme leaves, plus additional for garnish
2 c arugula
dressing
1/2 c pitted kalamata olives, chopped
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 t dijon mustard
1/2 t salt
1 T red wine vinegar
1/8 c olive oil
Preheat oven to 350F. Arrange tomatoes, cut side up, on a baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 T olive oil and sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper. Transfer to oven and roast 1 hour. Allow to cool, and slice larger tomatoes into thin strips.
In a large sauté pan, heat 2 T olive oil, over medium heat. Add shallot, and cook 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until deep brown and caramelized. Gently stir in butter beans, and sprinkle with salt, pepper and thyme. Cook 8-10 minutes, shaking pan occasionally, allowing beans to form a crust.
In a small bowl, combine kalamata olives, lemon juice, mustard, salt, red wine vinegar and olive oil. Stir well.
Separate arugula among 4 plates. Top with bean and tomato mixture, and olive dressing. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and thyme, to taste.
Reader Comments (17)
Ah yes, the dreaded interview questions! I also love changing my mind and enjoy constantly learning, And as soon as the weather cools down a little, I'll roast some tomatoes and give this recipe a try.
That's funny, I was just chatting to a friend about silly interview questions. I went on an interview today and was so glad I didn't get asked any of those ones!
This dish looks yummy! I LOVE roasted tomatoes, and I've never tried butter beans. Looking forward to making this!
Yum! Those beans look so good, and I love the way you did the tomatoes. You always inspire me to try out new things in the kitchen. I love that : )
This looks so delicious! I never liked olives until I became pregnant, so I must try this out!
How is it that I have never used butter beans? I guess I always reach for the chickpeas, but clearly I have got to branch out. I do a lot of tomato roasting too because we really don't get very good ones in our wet climate. Even sub-par tomatoes taste great roasted. Great looking dish Erin!
This looks and sounds absolutely amazing!! I hate those types of interview questions too, but I like the idea of changing my mind every week. That is a given. Are you getting local tomatoes? I haven't been to the farmer's market yet this year because of the CSA, but we haven't seen any tomatoes yet. I can never wait to eat them either!
roasted cherry tomatoes with some herbs and e.v.o.o....and im in heaven! beautiful post but now you have made me extremely hungry so Im off to get a snack :)
Such questions! People are many things... too hard to distill one's character to just a few words, I think. We are all abundant--many things. Speaking of abundant--this dish definitely has it! I love butter beans... And I love how you present things with a wonderful, surprising twist, Erin. I think I've got some butter beans in the cupboard now... You've given me weekend inspiration--thank you! Happy Days :o)
I just brought home some lovely cherry tomatoes from the farmers' market. This looks perfect for them.
Ooh, those tomatoes look lovely! Do they taste like sundried ones? Can you keep them?
Cindy, I have been getting local tomatoes (although not from my CSA yet)- the farm I get them from grows them in the greenhouse, I believe. Although I like roasting tomatoes that are not so great, since this really brings out the flavor...
Amanda, they have a similar taste to sun-dried but sweeter and I like the consistency better. You can keep them in the fridge for up to 5 days. They never last that long in my house though!
oh that dreaded question. blah. im not much for a raw tomato, but oh how i adore them when they are roasted. your picture of them is gorgeous!
Gosh this is making me drool and feeling so hungry!! It looks so yummie!! Oh yes another great recipt going into my freash 365 note book! Yep i do have a special note book for your wonderful recipes! Have a lovely merry happy weekend and love to you!
This was so much fun to read, Erin...I've never tried roasted tomatoes, but now I absolutely have to! Hope you're doing well, my friend. I think you need to do a guest post soon on my blog, don't you? Cooking is very creative and artistic, in my opinion. :)
I agree those questions are frightening! And changing your mind given new experiences etc. is imperative! I am on a roasted tomato rampage -love them! This recipe looks really yummy!
on another note I just came back from London and ate at Yotam Ottolenghi cafes a ton and his salads were incredible and really interesting. He just put out a vegetable cookbook that is AMAZING -called "Plenty" I carted mine home from London to find out you can order them on Amazon here in the US...anyways if its in the budget I think you would really love that cookbook and it is shot beautifully.
I love that the dressing has chopped kalamata olives! I love eating cherry and grape tomatoes raw so it's hard for me to roast them but this recipe is most tempting so I might have to try...
I can eat tomatoes any which way but roasted takes the cake! This recipe looks absolutely divine, must make soon! Thanx for sharing.