Even if today our calenders show we’ve entered the month number three, (here we call this day “the 1st day of calendar spring”), winter is not over yet, so I prefer to stick to winter foods for now.
Now, we eat pulses all year round, but in wintertime slightly more often than in summertime. I don’t purchase cannellini (white kidney beans) very often, since I’m more a fan of brown and red kidney beans. However, I do like cannellini prepared the following way. The preparation takes little time while the dish itself comes out very nutritious, not to mention delicious!

GRATINATED CANNELLINI BEANS WITH GREEN, RED PEPPER AND ONION

250g cannellini beans
3 bay leaves
1/2 Tbsp dried peppermint
sea salt
olive oil
1 small green bell pepper
1 small red bell pepper
1 small yellow onion
1 small red onion
2 tomatoes (optional)
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp smoked Spanish paprika
freshly ground pepper
150ml cider/white wine
50g grated cheese of your choice

1. Soak the beans for 12 hours, then cook them in a pressure cooker together with a tablespoon of olive oil, bay leaves, dried peppermint and some salt. I cook all the pulses in a pressure cooker – it’s faster and energy saving, too. In my cooker it takes 25 minutes. Drain the beans, remove the bay leaves and set aside.
2. Chop the vegetables (not too finely) and sautée them gently in a skillet with some olive oil. Add salt, pepper and basil, stir in the tomatoes (if using) and beans and add the wine. Remove from the fire after a minute and transfer into an oiled, oven-proof dish.
3. Sprinkle the bean dish with some grated cheese and gratiné in oven. Serve warm as a main dish with some salad on the side, or together with boiled rice or simply with some slices of bread.