Butterbean Love.

Oh the beloved butterbean.... or, lima, should you prefer.

For breakfast this morning, I had some of one of my favorite dishes, prepared evening before last for the first time in AGES.

Chock full of iron and good for you nutrients, Chehini Pie is my take on something I ate at a sweet little Chattanooga cafe in the early 90's.

Try it!

Chehini Pie

cooked brown rice

cooked butterbeans (fresh, frozen or dried)

tehini

tomatoes, sliced

sharp cheddar, grated

sesame seeds

slivered almonds

Cook up a pot of brown rice, enough to make a base for this casserole pie (depends on what size you'll be making). Cook it with a smidge of sea salt, and if you've got it, a drop or two of sesame oil. Cook up your beans. When both are ready, press rice into the bottom of a baking dish-- pyrex, corningware or some such casserole, approximately an inch high-- (more if you want a starchier dish, less if you're cutting back on the carbs). Pour your lovely butterbeans / limas over the rice. (You can season these as you like, though I tend to go very simple with only sea salt and black pepper.) Drizzle the top of your beans with tehini. Do this to taste. Your next layer is grated sharp cheddar, then layer with sliced tomatoes, be they bradley, beefsteak, yellow or whichever you prefer.... drizzle again with tehini. Top the tomatoes with a little more cheddar so they're not naked, but still peek through for a burst of color. Sprinkle the top with a tablespoon or so of sesame seeds and perhaps a quarter cup of slivered (or sliced) almonds. If you're a tehini fiend, drizzle some more. Bake off for 25 - 30 minutes in a 350-400 degree oven (I tend to marry my baking all together, particularly in summer so as to reduce oven time, so if you've got a cake or a quiche or something that requires a specific temp, go with it--- your pie ingredients are already cooked and the purpose for baking is merely to solidfy, melt and brown the ingredients together.)

When the Chehini Pie is bubbly and a little browned, pull it from the oven. Let it rest for 10-15 minutes. Cut into squares. This is particularly good when eaten with a fresh green salad topped with the very wonderful Annie's Goddess dressing. Mmmm...

Chehini Pie is a grand source of iron for prenant, lactating or menstruating women, and I've found that most small children really dig it.

I love Chehini Pie as start my day food in the days beyond its inital serving: I always feel so energized & nurtured by its earthy nutty goodness.

Enjoy!!