We
all know our food has to look and taste good, but one of the more
overlooked aspects in cooking is texture. This sandy beans recipe is a
great example. Sure, a nice bowl of white beans warmed in garlic oil and
topped with parsley is a fine thing, but texturally…kind of a snoozer.
Here
we're coating the beans with a crispy, cheesy, pleasantly gritty
breadcrumb mixture. That's right; less yawn, more fawn. This was
inspired by a similar trick I like to use for finishing pastas, and if
there's one thing I know about people (maybe the only thing), it's they
like crispy and crunchy toppings.
At
the beginning of the recipe you'll hear me mention a garlic-infused
oil. I will demo this in a future video, but in case you're wondering,
here's what I did. Take a 1/4 cup of olive oil and place it on low heat.
Add a sliced garlic clove. As soon as the garlic starts to bubble
slightly, turn off the heat and let the oil cool to room temp. Do not
brown the garlic. Strain this oil and voilà, you have garlic oil.
One
quest that never ends for a cook is the search for ways to make common
side dishes seem a little more special, and this is one trick I hope you
try soon. Enjoy!