Our cookbook of the week is Cool Beans: The Ultimate Guide to Cooking with the World’s Most Versatile Plant-Based Protein, with 125 Recipes by Joe Yonan. Tomorrow, we’ll feature an interview with the author.
To try another recipe from the book, check out: Garlicky Great Northern beans and broccoli rabe over toast , and mushroom-kidney bean burgers .
Beautiful in ice cream, mochi, mooncakes and other sweets, Joe Yonan took adzuki beans in a Middle Eastern direction for these chocolate, red bean and rose brownies. But first, banish any comparisons with bean-related brownie mix hacks from your mind. Because it would be a pity to let any preconceived notions interfere with you making this recipe.
“These are sort of based on that black bean brownie of yore: A semi-homemade idea where you took store-bought brownie mix and used a can of black beans — including all the liquid — instead of the eggs and maybe even the oil. And you know, I appreciate the idea but that was not really very good,” says Yonan with a laugh.
Instead of black beans, he chose adzukis for their inherent sweetness, and how well their nuttiness suits the chocolate, rose water and pistachios. Beans also make an appearance in his use of chickpea flour (making the recipe gluten-free) and aquafaba (the liquid from a can of chickpeas).
“I’m focusing on showing people the different forms of beans too,” says Yonan, “and I really like what chickpea flour can do in baking.”
CHOCOLATE, RED BEAN AND ROSE BROWNIES
3 tbsp vegan or dairy butter or coconut oil, melted, plus more for greasing the muffin tin
1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp chickpea flour, plus more for dusting (may substitute all-purpose flour)
1 (15-oz) can no-salt-added adzuki beans, drained and rinsed
2/3 cup aquafaba (the liquid from a shaken can of no-salt-added chickpeas)
3/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tbsp rose water
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp dairy-free or traditional semisweet chocolate chips (optional)
2 tbsp chopped walnuts or pistachios (optional)
2 tsp crushed dried organic rose petals (optional)
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Lightly grease one 6-muffin (jumbo) tin. Dust with flour and tap out the excess.
Step 2
In the bowl of a food processor, combine the butter, flour, adzuki beans, aquafaba, cocoa, salt, rose water, vanilla, sugar, and baking powder and process until very smooth, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Step 3
Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups and smooth the tops with a spoon. If using, sprinkle on the chocolate chips, nuts and/or rose petals.
Step 4
Bake until the tops are dry and the edges start to pull away from the sides, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 30 minutes before using a fork to remove them from the pan. They are meant to be very fudgy inside, so don’t worry if they seem too moist.
Step 5
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Makes: 6 servings
Reprinted with permission from Cool Beans: The Ultimate Guide to Cooking with the World’s Most Versatile Plant-Based Protein , with 125 Recipes by Joe Yonan, copyright © 2020. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2020
