Description
Rustic, hearty braised Instant Pot white beans with rosemary and garlic, finished with olive oil. Serve as a main, side dish or with toasted bread for breakfast. A perfect Mediterranean dish for any time of the year.
Ingredients
Soaking the beans
2 cups dry white beans such as cannellini, Great Northern or Haricot
4 cups water
1 teaspoon bicarb soda
For the cooking part
4 cups soaked white beans (yielded from 2 cups of dry beans)
4 cups water
1 cube of vegetable stock (see notes)
5 cloves garlic, roughly diced
3 sprigs of rosemary
1/2 medium onion, cut into 4 wedges
1 teaspoon salt
To finish
2 tablespoons olive oil (see notes for WW adjustments)
1.5 tablespoons lemon juice (1/3 lemon)
A little lemon zest (optional)
Instructions
- Soak the beans in water and bicarb soda for 12 hours (overnight or during the day). They will double in size. Rinse and use right away or refrigerate in an airtight container for a maximum of 12-24 hours.
- Add the beans, water, vegetable stock cube, garlic, rosemary, onions and salt to the pot and mix through. Pop the lid on top, lock and make sure the top valve is pointing to Sealing. Press Manual/Pressure Cook, HIGH pressure and set for 10 minutes. The pressure build-up will take about 7-10 minutes. Once 10 minutes are up, allow the pressure to release naturally for 20-25 minutes.
- Open the lid (after quick release, if needed) and skim off the onions from the top. Remove the rosemary sprigs (the needles should fall off into the soup and can be eaten). Stir the beans.
- Depending on how soupy or thick you like your braised beans, you might want to discard about 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid.
- Now, to thicken the beans, add some of the cooked beans and the broth liquid to a blender or food processor (about 1 cup, see pics above) and blend until smooth and thick. Return the puree to the pot and stir through the beans. The starched puree will thicken the mixture.
- Finally, add the lemon juice and olive oil and stir through before serving. You can also add the olive oil once it is served.
Notes
White beans: you can use most types of mature white beans such as Cannellini, Haricot, Great Northern, Navy.
Vegetable stock: we used water and vegetable stock cube; you can also use 2 cups water and 2 cups pre-made vegetable stock. Of course, you can also use all straight stock – 4 cups (in this case reduce the added salt by half).
Stovetop: Bring the beans to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 1-2 hours or until the beans are nice and tender, depends on their size. Skim off some of the froth from the top at the start.
Dietary notes: gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, nut-free, egg-free, dairy-free, Mediterranean Diet, high-fibre, protein-rich.
Weight Watchers: 7 smart points (green) per serving with added olive oil as per the recipe above. Or 6 points if you omit the olive oil at the end.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup of cooked beans
- Calories: 274
- Sugar: 2.2 g
- Sodium: 582.3 mg
- Fat: 5.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 42.9 g
- Fiber: 10.5 g
- Protein: 15.9 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Keywords: Italian, Greek, Mediterranean Diet, Beans