recipe of the week: ROMESCO BUTTER BEANS

Each week during Veggie Vebruary, we’re spotlighting a simple, high-protein, meatless recipe for you to try.

What do we love at the end of a long day? A SHORT recipe for a flavorful, nutritious meal. “Romesco Butter Beans,” on The Spice House’s website, has us covered. It’s a delicious way to get protein without meat and dairy, so we’re avoiding the climate impact of animal-based foods.

According to Edamam, this dish has an impressive 22 grams of protein per serving! Rejoice and go do some pushups. But not until you’ve finished dipping hunks of bread (warmed, I suggest) into the aromatic, bright orange sauce with its creamy butter beans. You could alternately enjoy it over pasta, rice, or even eggs, as noted in the recipe.

This is what "a splash" of olive oil looks like

Even if you linger over your meal, you’ll still have plenty of time for your protein-fueled workout, because it will take you 20 minutes or fewer to prepare this dish. Just open some jars and cans, blend, and heat. It couldn’t be easier.

The recipe is a forgiving formula, too. You don’t necessarily need the “Five Chile Fever” spice blend in the ingredient list. My family likes a low spice level, so I substituted mild Aleppo pepper flakes, or you could put in hot red pepper flakes and/or chili powder.

Butter beans

I didn’t have enough almonds on hand, so half my nuts were pine nuts: All good! Raw almonds work just fine, too, or you could roast them yourself. No butter beans? Try cannellini or other white beans as a substitute.

Also, it’s saucy enough that I think it could easily accommodate a third can of beans. Give yourself the gift of leftovers that only need reheating for lunch the next day.

Maplewood’s Good Bottle Refill Shop is offering a 25% in-person discount from Feb. 2-9 on some of the ingredients for this dish: almonds; olive oil; optional rice or pasta or eggs if that’s how you want to serve it; and red pepper flakes and chili powder if you want to use them as an alternative to the “Five Chile Fever” seasoning. You’ll be going a step further to help the environment by shopping at a refill store.

If you want to post about making this recipe on social media, tag @mmitm_project (Instagram) or @mmitm.project (Facebook) and let us know how it went! #VeggieVebruary

And visit the Veggie Vebruary page for all our Recipes of the Week.