Eats - White Bean and Chard Stew with Poached Eggs and Multigrain Bread

And this is the first of two posts from the "teaser" picture I posted yesterday - the one with all the produce.

White bean and chard stew with poached eggs and multigrain bread.

I started with the same broth as in this post. I used much less of it, keeping the rest back for for reheating the stew a dthe potato leek soup I made the same evening and .

Making the stock

I admit parts of this recipe will sound pretty similar to that other post with the white bean and cabbage stew, but the end result was not. The presentation was considerably different, and where the cabbage stew was brothy, this one was dry. Don't be too quick to judge my repetition. I have a thing for soups and stews and beans and cooked greens in the winter.

Ok, so. For the stew. Brown three shallots in oil. Add four cloves of garlic, two carrots, and two celery stalks (finely chopped). Brown in oil for a few minutes, then add two 12 oz. cans of white northern beans. Add 1/4 cup white wine, cook down, then add two cups of the vegetable stock, a few teaspoons each of thyme and rosemary, two bay leaves and salt, black, and white pepper to taste. Cook for five minutes or until the beans are cooked. Add two bunches of chard, stems removed and coarsely chopped. Put a lid on and allow the chard to wilt, stirring occasionally.

White bean and chard stew

While the chard is cooking (this only takes a few minutes), poach your eggs. I found this tutorial to be incredibly helpful. I had never poached an egg before, and managed to make three fairly perfect eggs in succession. Her site is delightful.

Ok, enough tangent. Once the chard is cooked, dish your stew onto a plate, top with one or two poached eggs (I love them, so I had two), and serve with bread.

My first ever poached egg!  Just moments before the dog
decided I needed to make another go of it....

I wanted to have bread around that would be convenient for sandwiches, so I tried the following recipe, replacing the all-purpose flour with a mixture of spelt, flaxseed, rye, and wheat flours (like the soda bread I made last week).

Classic Sandwich Bread (From Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison, 2007)

2 1/4 teaspoons (1 envelope) active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 cup warm milk
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 cups all purpose flour
3-4 cups bread flour
egg glaze
poppy seeds and sesame seeds for top

In a small bowl, stir 1/2 cup of the water and the yeast together, add the sugar, and set aside until foamy, about 10 minutes. In a larger bowl, combine the milk, remaining water, the honey, oil, and salt, then stir in the proofed yeast. Using a wooden spoon or the paddle attachment of an electric mixer, work in the flour a cup at a time until you have a shaggy, heavy dough that leaves the sides of the bowl. Turn it out onto a lightly floured counter and gradually knead in the remaining flour until the dough is smooth and resilient, about 5 minutes. Put in a deep oiled bowl, turning it so that the top is oiled too. Cover with a damp towel and set in a warm place to rise until doubled in bulk, an hour or longer.

Multigrain bread

Deflate the dough by pressing down on it, then divide it into two equal pieces, shape into balls, cover, and let rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, oil two bread pans. Flatten the dough into two rectangles the length of the pan. Roll it up tightly, pinch the seams together to seal the ends, and place in the pans, seam side down. Cover again and let rise until the dough is just above the edge of the pan, about 35 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 deg. F. Leave the dough as is or score the top with three diagonal slashes. Brush with the egg glaze and bake until browned and pulling away from the sides, 40 to 45 minutes. If the tops get too dark, cover loosely with foil. Turn the bread out, tap the bottom to make sure it has a hollow sound, not a thud, then set on a rack to cool.

Multigrain bread