This dish evolved when I had a good-sized holiday turkey left in the refrigerator. Somehow no one ever wants the wings. They’re too big to gnaw on politely at the table, and the meat is hard to carve delicately into slices for sandwiches later. So they sit in the fridge, getting drier each day. But don’t let that happen, because they make very good eating for one or two when they are properly reconstituted. And I found that well-flavored dried beans did the trick.

　　

Ingredients

1/2 cup dried beans, preferably smaller ones, such as navy beans or flageolets

　　1 medium onion, roughly chopped

　　2 garlic cloves, peeled and slivered

　　1 small carrot or 1/2 large carrot, peeled and chopped

　　Several fresh parsley stems

　　2 cooked turkey wings, trimmed (I use only the meaty sections)

　　Salt and freshly ground pepper

　　About 1 tablespoon leftover turkey gravy or broth, or 1 scant teaspoon glace de viande mixed with a little water

　　A sprinkling of chopped parsley leaves

　　

Step 1

Soak the beans in water to cover for 8–10 hours—overnight or during the workday, or use the quick-soak method in the preceding recipe, whatever is convenient. To cook, drain them and put them in a small heavy pot along with the onion, garlic, carrot, and parsley stems. Pour in enough water to cover by 1 1/2 inches, and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down, and simmer, covered, for almost 1 hour, but taste after 50 minutes to see if they are tender. At this point, arrange the wings in a one-serving gratin dish, cover with foil, and set in a preheated 375° oven. Give them a 10-minute start to warm up, then cover them with the beans and their aromatic vegetables, seasoned with salt and pepper, and pour over them whatever small amount of bean juice you have left, fortified, if at all possible, with a little leftover gravy, or with one of the suggested substitutes. Make a loose cover of tented foil, and bake in the 375° oven for 20 minutes. Sprinkle some parsley on top.

　　

Variations

Step 2

You could use almost any kind of fowl, such as roast duck or goose wings, or some roast or braised meat. A few slices of cooked sausage are good, too.

　　The Pleasures of Cooking for One by Judith Jones. Copyright © 2009 by Judith Jones. Published by Knopf. All Rights Reserved.Judith Jones is senior editor and vice president at Alfred A. Knopf. She is the author of The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food and the coauthor with Evan Jones (her late husband) of three books: The Book of Bread; Knead It, Punch It, Bake It!; and The Book of New New England Cookery. She also collaborated with Angus Cameron on The L. L. Bean Game and Fish Cookbook, and has contributed to Vogue, Saveur, and Gourmet magazines. In 2006, she was awarded the James Beard Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. She lives in New York City and Vermont.