Meatless Monday: Edamame Beans with Olive Oil

Have you heard about Meatless Monday? This non-profit initiative is dedicated to reducing meat consumption to 15% “in order to improve personal health and the health of our planet.” To do that, they’re asking people to cut meat out of their diet one day a week. Because the Mediterranean Diet calls for eating fruits, vegetables, grains (mostly whole), olive oil, beans, nuts, legumes and seeds, and herbs and spices more often than meat, we thought we’d start featuring meatless recipes at the beginning of every week! Enjoy the first edition of Meatless Monday on The Oldways Table blog! – Alison

This recipe offers a delicious East-meets-West combination, a great way to bring together good taste and nutrition!

Edamame Beans with Olive Oil

(from The Oldways Table: Essays & Recipes From the Culinary Think Tank)

*serves 4*

Ingredients

¾ cup water
4 cups frozen shelled edamame beans
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons finely ground sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

Pour the water into a medium cooking pot over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, add the frozen beans, and cook, covered, for 6 minutes, until firm but tender.
Remove from the heat, drain, and divide beans equally among four soup bowls.
Spoon 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over the beans in each bowl, and sprinkle each with ½ teaspoon of sea salt and a generous pinch of pepper. Serve immediately.

For recipe variations and nutrition information, visit the Mediterranean Foods Alliance website.