Recipe: White Bean Cakes w/Spinach-Tarragon Sauce

[Guest guest]

Dear List,

I moved this past December and it has taken me this long to unearth my

index-card recipe file box. A little slow for reasons I'm sure you all

can realize. This is a recipe from my pre-children/GFCF days that adapts

easily. These cakes made a great appetizer but I recorded that the cakes

needed a binder as they tended to fall apart during the frying. I plan on

using them as a main couse with my kids. It reads like alot of work, but

once the beans are cooked (use canned to shorten prep time) it isn't that

difficult and it is a great non-meat main dish.

Sharon in Virginia

White-Bean Cakes w/Spinach-Tarragon Sauce

Makes 16 1+1/2 oz cakes. These have fallen apart for me while cooking…was

I too rough or do they need an egg binder????

For the Cakes:

1 # dry white pea beans, navy beans, cannelini or other small bean,

soaked, cooked w/bay leaf and 3 cloves of chopped garlic until soft

10-12 tablespoons olive oil

1+1/2 teaspoons salt

½ teaspoon ground pepper

1 cup rice or other GF flour

1. Remove bay leaf. Mash beans with 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Add salt

and pepper to taste. When mixture is cool, shape into 3-inch long oval

cakes. Bean cakes can be made up to 3 days in advance and refrigerated at

this point.

2. Heat ½ cup of olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Roll the

bean cakes in rice floour to coat, shaking off excess. Fry cakes in hot

oil until crisp and golden, about 3-4 minutes on each side, adding oil if

necessary. Drain on brown paper bags.

Spinach-Tarragon Sauce:

4 tablespoons CF butter (1/2 stick)

10 oz frozen spinach, defrosted

4 tablespoons fresh tarragon leaves, packed slightly

½ cup water (original recipe was white wine)

1+1/2 teaspoons salt

½ teaspoon ground pepper

1. Melt butter over low heat in a large heavy skillet. Add spinach and

tarragon . Cook for 5 minutes.

2. Add wine, salt, pepper, and ½ cup water. Simmer for 5 minutes.

3. Process in blender or Cuisinart unitl smooth. Keep warm until needed.

To Serve:

Arrange 3 warm cakes on an individual small plate in fan pattern. Spoon a

wide stripe of warm sauce over them.