Author: jkd
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Seafood Cassoulet: Flagolet Beans with White Fish, Tomatoes, and Spinach
On another snowy winter’s day, I needed a walk and so headed out to my favorite fishmonger, Mermaid’s Garden. I didn’t have anything in particular in mind, but got the glimmer of an idea after buying some hake and on my way home, a baguette from She Wolf Bakery. It was time for a nice…
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Gnocchi Soup with Royal Corona Beans and Black Caviar Lentils
A cold winter night, achy bones – time for chicken noodle soup. With a twist! I’d already cooked up some lovely Royal Corona beans with aromatics, and had a few other odds and ends lying around, so: soup! Ingredients 150g cooked Royal Corona Beans (in the usual method) 100g Black Caviar Lentil (or other lentil)…
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Back on the Bean: Ful!
I’ll have a further write-up about the Year of the Bean but for now: more new beans! Small fava beans this time, from Damascus Bakery, and a riff on a very basic ful recipe from Yotam Ottolenghi’s Plenty. Ingredients 300g dried small fava beans 160 mL olive oil 160 mL lemon juice 1 Tbsp. ground…
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Starting it Up Again: Black-eyed Peas, Collard Greens, and Ham Hock for 2021
As I started in 2020, so I’ll ring in the New Year – with another recipe for 2020-1, using Rancho Gordo’s Super Lucky 2021 Black-eyed Peas. Rather than a new take, I’m going classic, and all together – the peas, the collards, the hock, all together with a bit of heat. Along with some hot…
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New Year’s Eve Bonus Bean: Crispy Braised Duck Legs with Alubia Blanca, Cabbage, and Green Onions
It’s a repeat bean but it was the right one for the job! Ingredients 150g Alubia Blanca beans 2 duck legs, well seasoned with salt and pepper 2 tbsp. mixed aromatics 10 green onions, trimmed and cut into 4″ sections 2 C. chopped Savoy cabbage 2 C. veggie stock olive oil salt black pepper bay…
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Penultimate Bean of 2020: Santa Maria Pinquito
One of the other late-in-the-year, new-to-me beans from Rancho Gordo, the Santa Maria Pinquito is a delightful little guy. I don’t eat beef so no tri-tip BBQ for me, but I did want to make them a whole meal, so loaded up on the aromatics and added a bit of spice. Ingredients 200g Santa Maria…
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Hidatsa Red Beans! Plain, and in Mushroom-Farro Soup
Another of the new-to-me beans from Rancho Gordo this fall was the Hidatsa Red, about which they write, Bred by the Hidatsa tribe of the Dakotas, Hidatsa Red may look similar to other red beans but the similarity stops there. It has a unique, melt-in-your-mouth texture and rich, beany taste. A thin skin helps make…
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King City Pinks: Alone, and in Veggie Chili!
In addition to my exciting recent Bean Day delivery, Rancho Gordo this fall had a batch of new (and new-to-me) beans and I couldn’t help myself – I had to order more. So I’m now well-stocked for winter, including these beautiful and delicious King City Pinks. I wanted to make enough to make sure I…
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Swedish Brown Beans: Alone, and, Soup!
One of the new beans I discovered on my recent Kalustyan’s trip was the Swedish Brown bean, which they describe as a “Scandinavian heirloom bean, known for being extremely tender and hold together well, even though extended cooking. When cooked, yielding tender with nutty flavor and firm texture.” Sounds pretty good! But most of the…
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Indigenous Culinary Heritage: Brown Tepary Beans
I was overjoyed recently when I found a whole new category of beans via Ramona Farms, the Tepary Bean, and even more excited when a local market started carrying them. Ramona herself writes of them: My father, Francisco ‘Chiigo’ Smith, an O’dham farmer, grew many traditional crops on my mother Margaret’s ten acre allotment located…
Year of the Bean 