Beans alla Vodka - by Raquel Ravivo
By now we all know I’m in the midst of my bean era and many of you can probably relate. Beans are the perfect food because they’re carby, high protein, fibre-rich and extremely versatile. The other day I made golden creamy butter beans which many of you loved, and these these Beans alla Vodka are definitely up to par; in fact I might even love them more. They are essentially the bean-y version of Penne alla Vodka: white beans simmered in a creamy vodka sauce (made creamy with coconut milk, very non-traditional but delicious) and topped with parm, fresh basil and a good drizzle of olive oil.
That being said, if you’re a fan of both beans and vodka pasta then I’m pretty certain you’ll love these as much as I do. I feel like it was only right to serve with toasted sourdough, but then imagine these with some really good focaccia?? Someone please try that and report back. In the meantime, here is the recipe for some of the best beans you’ll ever make:
serves 4-6
1 tbsp olive oil
2 shallots, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp chili flakes
1 156ml (5.5oz) can tomato paste (2/3 cup)
1/4 cup vodka
1 cup coconut milk
2 cups veg broth
2 540ml cans drained and rinsed cannellini beans*
black pepper to taste
pinch of salt
1/3 cup grated parmesan (vegan or non-vegan)
Handful fresh basil
Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add shallot and fry for 1-2 minutes or until translucent. Add garlic and chili flakes and fry for another minute until fragrant.
Pour in tomato paste and sauté until it takes on some colour and lightly caramelizes, about 2-3 minutes. Pour in the vodka, it should lift any tomato paste off of the bottom of your pan, cook until it’s mostly reduced, about 1-2 minutes.
Add vegetable broth, coconut milk and beans, and season with salt and black pepper to taste (salt level will depend on how salty your veg broth is). Stir until combined and bring to a simmer. Turn the heat to low and cook uncovered for 10-15 minutes until thickened and reduced. Stir every 2-3 minutes to prevent sticking.
Stir in parmesan and basil and serve with a drizzle of olive oil, more basil as garnish and some toasted bread. Enjoy!
*sub navy beans, butter beans or any other starchy white bean of your choice
I sincerely hope you make these and enjoy, it’s not a recipe to be missed! I’m feeling super inspired to experiment more with beans, so that’s exactly what I’ll do. And I’ll definitely be sharing my most successful attempts, so stay tuned. See you soon!
-Raquel xx
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