I am ALWAYS looking for new recipes. However, I love it even more if I discover a new way to obtain them. As you probably know by now, I love America’s Test Kitchen. Since Christopher Kimball left the show a while back, I never really followed him. That is until now. If you never heard of him, America’s Test Kitchen was his idea. He was the host and was a kind of curmudgeon and was a perfect compliment to the chefs and other presenters. After they parted ways, Christopher Kimball started Milk Street. I never really watched this show until last week. It’s different than America’s Test Kitchen. From what I have watched so far, they are focused on simple recipes from around the world. I’ve enjoyed the show and found a few recipes I want to adapt. This week I am starting with Turkish Beans with Pickled Tomatoes. A simple, yet flavorful meal. Of course it’s also beans. Can’t go wrong there. I will be using something other than the tomatoes and I’ll be using an instant pot. I will also post the oven method, which does take a bit longer.

Here are the original stats.

Here’s what I changed:

• I swapped out the pickled tomatoes for a low sodium pickled bell pepper to increase the vitamin C and lower the sodium.
• I replaced the lamb shank with beef shank because of lamb not being widely available.
• I replaced the salted with unsalted butter to reduce the sodium.
• I replaced the canned tomatoes with pumpkin puree to delete the tomatoes and increase the vitamin A.
• I increase the servings from 6 to 11 to reduce the calories
• I added brown rice to add more substance to the dish.
• I added a carrot to increase the vitamin A.

Here are the final stats:

Here is the final recipe:

Turkish Beans with Pickled Sweet Peppers

Serves 11

• 6 cups water
• 1 pound dry cannilini beans,
  • (soaked overnight and drained for the oven method, unsoaked for the instant pot method)
• 1 cup brown basmati rice
• 14 ounces beef shank
• 1 large onion
• 1 large carrot, chopped
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 8 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
• 4 thyme sprigs
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 15 ounce can pumpkin puree
• ½ cup chopped parsley
• 2 tablespoons fresh dill
• 2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
• Ground black pepper

Pickled Bell Peppers

• 4 red bell peppers, chopped
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 3/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 4 cloves of garlic

Oven Method

1. Heat the oven to 325ºF with a rack in the middle position. In a large oven-safe pot or Dutch oven over high heat, combine the water, beans, rice, beef shank, onion, butter, garlic, thyme, bay leaves, paprika, carrot and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil, then cover and transfer to the oven. Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes.
2. Remove the pot from the oven. Stir in the pumpkin puree. Return, uncovered, to the oven and bake until the beans are fully tender and creamy and the liquid is slightly thickened, another 1 hour 15 minutes.
3. Mix all of the ingredients for the pickled peppers.  Set aside.
4. Transfer the pot to a rack. Remove the beef shank and set aside. Discard the thyme sprigs and bay leaves. Let the beans sit for 20 minutes.
5. When cool, remove the meat from the bone, discarding fat, gristle and bone. Finely chop the meat and stir into the beans. Stir in the parsley, dill and molasses. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve with yogurt, olive oil, pomegranate molasses and dill. Top with pickled bell peppers.

Instant Pot Method

1. Mix all of the ingredients for the pickled peppers.  Set aside for 1 hour.
2. In an instant pot combine the water, unsoaked beans, rice, beef shank, onion, butter, garlic, thyme, bay leaves, paprika, carrot, pumpkin and red pepper flakes.
3. Place the pressure cooker on high and the timer for 25 minutes.  Allow for a natural pressure release.
4. Remove the beef shank and set aside. Discard the thyme sprigs and bay leaves. Let the beans sit for 20 minutes.
5. When cool, remove the meat from the bone, discarding fat, gristle and bone. Finely chop the meat and stir into the beans. Stir in the parsley, dill and molasses. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve with yogurt, olive oil, pomegranate molasses and dill. Top with pickled bell peppers.