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Clean recipe · cooking.nytimes.com

One-Pot Beans, Greens and Grains

Many filling, flavorful and flexible meals are within reach with this technique: It produces fluffy grains, just-soft-enough greens and creamy and garlicky beans all in one pot. Customize your mix based on your cravings and your pantry: Use any dark leafy greens and any cooked legumes. Use quinoa, rice or a mix of the two for a variety of textures; for other grains, refer to the cooking instructions on their package and add the greens in the last 5 to 7 minutes. You can infuse the grains with flavor by stirring ground spices or other seasonings into the pot. Add brightness with lemon and garnish wildly — or not at all. This meal can be eaten warm or cold, which means lunchtime grain bowls are now easier to pull off.

Original recipe: cooking.nytimes.com

Yield:
2 servings
Prep:
5 min
Cook:
35 min
Total:
40 min
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Ingredients

  1. 1¾ cups water or broth
  2. 1 cup quinoa, long-grain white rice or a mix of the two, rinsed
  3. Salt and black pepper
  4. 1 (14-ounce) can of any beans
  5. 1 small garlic clove
  6. 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  7. 1 bunch collard greens, kale, spinach or other hearty dark leafy green
  8. 1 lemon
  9. Toppings (optional): toasted nuts or seeds, fresh herbs, grated or crumbled cheese, soft-boiled egg, avocado, hot sauce or other sauces and so on

Instructions

  1. In a large pot or Dutch oven, bring the water, quinoa and a generous pinch each of salt and pepper to a boil over high. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 13 minutes.
  2. While the quinoa cooks, drain and rinse the beans, then transfer to a small bowl. Finely grate the garlic over the beans, then add the oil and a pinch each of salt and pepper, and stir to combine. Set aside. Remove and discard any tough stems from the greens, then roughly chop the leaves.
  3. After 13 minutes, arrange the greens on top of the quinoa and season well with salt and pepper. Cover and cook until the quinoa is tender, 5 to 7 minutes. (When the quinoa is tender, it’s also translucent and has a thin white tail.) Remove the pot from heat, scrape the beans over the greens, then cover the pot and let sit for 5 minutes.
  4. Finely grate some of the lemon zest over the beans and greens, then cut the lemon into wedges. Eat the beans, greens and grains with a squeeze of lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste and any toppings you like.