Recipe & Photography By Amber Turpin

At some point over the years, I began making what my household refers to as “Bean Sandwiches.” It started as a cheap, easy-to-throw- together dish that I absent- mindedly made while being a young, vegetarian college student on a Trader Joe’s budget. But since then it has evolved to incorporate more seasonal produce, fresh herb pestos and a variety of cheeses.

Essentially, we have taken the most basic of pantry items—a can of beans—to the next level as a topping
for an elevated savory toast creation. While it might sound less than enticing, it is truly delicious and makes for an extremely simple, adaptable dinner.

Especially as some of us are diving back into the fall season with a school- work balancing act, a quick weeknight meal idea is nice to have in the back pocket. This meat-free recipe is more like a blueprint that you can use to plug in the ingredients you already have on hand, all revolving around how to use various canned beans in open-faced, toast tartines.

The whole point is to keep it playful and easy, the beans serving as an anchor point to let the rest fall into place after a quick perusal of your produce drawer, leftover containers and whatever chunk of bread-type base is available. If you happen to have cooked beans that were not in a can, even better. And if you’re a devoted carnivore and want to use a few bits of bacon or some shards of roast chicken, feel free.

The below recipe includes kale, because it is basically available all year long. But in the fall, I often use leftover roasted butternut squash or a mixture of sautéed mushrooms instead. And again, any bean will work great!