So, I took a lot of liberties with this one! It was originally called Butter Bean, Fennel, and Orange Bowls (courtesy of Forks Over Knives). Because I had an abundance of Navy Beans and zero Butter Beans, I went with the Navy. I forgot to buy fennel on my grocery trip and when I made a quick stop to pick some up, they were out. So no fennel. Believe me, I heard all about these changes from Mr. FBBQ!! (?About making a recipe your own? Taking creative liberties? Yes, you heard all about it.?) But isn’t disobeying the rules part of the fun?? Anyhow, this ended up being a tasty meal!
To start, you’ll need to soak the beans (if you are using dry beans). I’ve been through this before in previous recipes. Dry beans need to soak at least 24 hrs. After that, you’ll need to simmer them over low heat for at least a half-hour to soften them up. So, obviously, I started this process a few days ahead of time.
For the recipe itself, you’ll need quinoa, beans, shallots, white wine vinegar, oregano, salt and pepper, arugula, oranges, and pomegranate arils. For the tahini sauce, you’ll need tahini, lemon juice, parsley, garlic, cumin, salt, and pepper.
Once the beans are done cooking and softening, add them to a bowl with the white wine vinegar, chopped shallots, and the oregano. Set this aside.
Cook the quinoa. Set this aside.
To make the tahini sauce, mix tahini, lemon juice, parsley, minced garlic, cumin and a bit of salt and pepper in a bowl. Add water until it becomes drizzly.
To put this all together, start with a base of arugula. Add the bean mixture and the quinoa. Slice up the orange (I went with Cara Cara oranges because they were on sale, but you could use any type of orange or clementine you prefer). Add the orange slices. Add the pomegranate arils. Fun first time for me-I bought a whole pomegranate and cut it up to remove the arils. I thought that would be difficult but it actually wasn’t! It was messy, however. Arils all over the kitchen! The cats checked them out but decided they weren’t interested. I couldn’t believe how many arils I got out of one pomegranate! It was pretty neat! Back to our dinner! Drizzle the tahini sauce over the top of everything and enjoy!!
