Cannellini Beans with Creamy Cauliflower (No Added Fat)

I wanted to cook with cannellini beans, which I've not used in some time. I also bought some fresh cauliflower and was thinking of using it; I figured that it could be cooked very briefly but had the idea that if I let it cook with the beans, the cauliflower would be very creamy. Here is what I did.


Ingredients

• 2 cups dry cannellini beans, rinsed, soaked overnight, and then rinsed again
• Enough water to just cover the beans
• Florets from medium head of cauliflower (florets kept large and not subdivided; about 4 cups)
• Vegan bouillon cube
• 3 scallions cut into 1/4" pieces (about 3/4 cup)
• 1T (or bit more) lemon juice (I squeezed a Meyer lemon)
• 1t salt (more or less to taste; I used a combination of kala namak and Himalayan salt)
• 1/4 t lemon pepper (or freshly ground black pepper)
• (optional) 1/2 t tarragon

Process

1. It takes 20-25m to cook soaked cannellini beans; of course, the cauliflower would be done in just a minute or so. I kept the cauliflower pieces large as I was going to include them for the whole cook time and have very soft, perhaps creamy, cauliflower. I went with a 22m cook time by putting the beans, water, cauliflower, and bouillon cube into my Instant Pot pressure cooker and cooking for 22m.
2. After the cooking was done, I waited a few minutes and gently released pressure, then added the scallion, lemon juice, and seasonings, and served.

I also made some long-grained brown rice (simmered for 45m in a 1 : 2 1/2 ratio of rice to water, as well as a bit of salt and a vegan bouillon cube).

Results

We enjoyed the creamy cauliflower texture and subtle flavor with the beans. My one criticism is that of color - I wish that I had some red splash of color to add, such as bell pepper or red chili pepper. I added more salt than I should have, but the dish was still good.

Ideas for the future

I should try cooking cauliflower with other ingredients again to enjoy the creamy cauliflower consistency and flavor. I wonder if I cooked cauliflower separately maybe for 10m or so and then maybe blended it with water and nutritional yeast if I would get a good white sauce.