A Good Dish

making food simpler

It Is Shell Bean Season And Borlotti/Cranberry Beans Are An Easy, Fresh Protein Source

Borlotti/Cranberry beans simmered with herbs and garlic
Porcelain bowl by Silvie Granatelli

Borlotti beans, also called Cranberry beans because of their speckled fuschia pods and interior dots, are a type of shell bean that shows up at farmers markets in fall. You may find the bright pink and cream-colored pods still tinged with green or yellowing – either way, they are all okay. I’ve even found pods that look like the ends are rotting but the beans inside were still fine. Sadly, as gorgeous as they are raw, they lose most of their vibrant color when cooked. Unlike green or wax beans, which can be eaten raw or cooked, shell beans, like dry beans, need cooking to be digestible. You simply remove them from their pods (as you would shell fresh peas) and simmer in water or broth until tender.

Fresh cranberry/borlotti beans in their pods
Shelled beans ready to cook
Sometimes you get a batch of very colorful beans

Fresh Borlotti/Cranberry beans may be one of the most versatile beans. Once cooked, you can add them to salads, pastas, soups (especially good in a minestrone) or even just tossed with butter and salt. They make a delicious bean salad with a simple balsamic vinaigrette. Whoever discovered there were edible beans in these pretty pods and that you had to cook them before eating was a brilliant risk-taker. Fortunately for us, that someone was adventurous because these beans are both tasty and high in protein and fiber.

Beans in their pod
Dry shell beans are shelf stable but need soaking and longer cooking
Simmer beans with fresh or dry herbs, garlic or onion until tender

My favorite ways to eat cooked Borlotti beans are 1- simply simmered with garlic and herbs, drained and drizzled with olive oil and 2- combined with corn and red pepper in a succotash. You can store cooked beans in the fridge for a couple of days so they work well as a cook once, eat several times ingredient. Plus, you can freeze cooked beans and always have a protein available to add to a soup or pasta mid-winter. Buy a few pounds at your local farmers market, shell and simmer until soft and please share with the rest of us how you used them.

Succotash made with shell beans
Porcelain bowl by Sylvie Granatelli

See a piece I wrote on Sylvie Granatelli‘s work here.

French Lentil Salad – Easy To Make, Nutritious, Tasty Cold And At Room Temperature – What More Could We Ask?

French lentil salad
Earthenware bowl by Michael Connelly

Lentils are one of the most important pantry provisions in my kitchen. Because they cook quickly, I can take a cup or two of dry lentils and have a meal ready in an hour. I might curry them, sauté with veggies, use them to make soup, cook with rice or simmer 20 minutes and then dress them to make a salad. Lentil salad is a hot weather favorite because you cook once and eat several times, avoiding the repeated heat of the stove. It is also perfect picnic and lunchbox food as it can sit out awhile and tastes good cold or at room temperature.

French lentil salad
Earthenware bowl by Michael Connelly

Lentil salads are extremely variable depending on how you season or dress them and what vegetables, fruits, seeds, nuts or cheese you add. My favorite lentils for a salad are the black beluga or the du Puy (from the Puy region of France) because they hold their shape when tossed but plain old brown or green lentils will work, too. (Save the red for soups or curries as they turn completely soft when cooked). They must be cooked sufficiently (to get rid of lectins, a kind of protein lost with cooking that isn’t good for you) but not so much that they get mushy. The salad here is based on a recently published recipe by Steve Sando, the Rancho Gordo bean guru, which I enhanced to suit my tastes. (His website has lots of great bean recipes). I change it up each time I make it depending on what vinegars, herbs or additions I have on hand. This week I used parsley, jalapeño, rehydrated sun-dried tomatoes, radishes and feta, because that is what I had on hand. After we’ve eaten it a few days running for lunch or dinner, I put the remaining lentils on toast with arugula and mashed avocado for breakfast or lunch. As with most bean dishes, I always make more than I need in order to have leftovers.

French lentil Salad
Earthenware Bowl by Michael Connelly

FRENCH LENTIL SALAD

  • 3 cups cooked French lentils
  • 2 cups finely diced or grated carrots
  • 1 cup finely sliced or diced celery
  • 1 cup finely diced red, orange or yellow bell pepper
  • 1/2-1 cup chopped preferred green herb – parsley, cilantro, tarragon, mint or dill
  • 1 finely diced jalapeño (optional)
  • 1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes (optional)
  • 1/2-1 chopped avocado (optional)
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped watermelon or red radish (optional)
  • Crumbled feta and toasted pumpkin seeds (optional)

For dressing blend:

  • 2-3 peeled garlic cloves
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion (or scallion if you prefer)
  • 1/2 cup chopped red pepper (fresh or roasted)
  • 2 tsps capers
  • 1 TBs Dijon mustard
  • 1 TBs fresh lemon juice
  • 3 TBs vinegar (balsamic, wine, sherry or a combination)
  • 4 TBs olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Toss all ingredients with 1/2 blended dressing and taste. Add more to your preference. Serve at room temperature or chill and serve anytime in the next 3 days.

                                                                    *   *   *

Michael Connelly makes a wide range of artful, beautiful and useful pottery in various clay bodies and fired in different ways. His skillful throwing is enhanced by his masterful painting and glazing. His pots are in heavy rotation in our home. Michael has an upcoming show at Clay Akar in August and at his studio in Philadelphia in November. Here is a link to a wonderful interview with him by the intrepid Ben Carter.

Earthenware pourers by Michael Connelly
Photo courtesy of the artist
Rowhouse plate
Slipped and glazed earthenware
by Michael Connelly
Photo courtesy of the artist
Tall composite clay jar
by Michael Connelly
Photo courtesy of the artist

An Easy Bean Salad To Serve Friends (Or Just For Yourself) This Summer

Lima Bean Salad
Cone 1 Red Clay Bowl By Wayne Branum

I try to cook beans at least once a week as a good source of vegan protein. One pound (about two cups) of dried beans makes several meals, more than you would think when you see them before cooking. Dry beans rehydrate, soaking up a lot of water as they cook along with whatever flavors you add as seasoning. I usually cook them with either a piece of kombu (seaweed) or a bay leaf, following the folk wisdom that says these make them more digestible and have had no complaints. Once cooked, which takes 1-2 hours simmering while I am doing something else, I put the beans, with their cooking liquid, in the fridge and have the makings of many possible dishes for the week ahead. When I don’t get around to soaking and cooking, I rely on a backup reserve of canned beans.

Dry Limas Before Soaking

Some of my favorite bean dishes are also the easiest. Black bean soup, chili and baked beans  as well as cold dishes like hummus or lentil salad, especially great in summer. I add black or red beans to nachos and chickpeas or white beans to green salads. My current obsession is a garlicky and citrusy bean salad I make with Christmas Limas but you could make it with any bean that holds its shape. It is quite versatile in that you can adjust both the vegetables you add and the dressing ingredients. For example, sub scallions for onion, red pepper or carrots for celery, and shallot for garlic. Sweeten it by adding fresh or dried fruit (perhaps chopped apple or apricots) and bulk up the vegetables simply by adding more and serving it on a bed of arugula or lettuce. I first made it last summer for the only time we had visitors stop by and were keeping socially distant. I needed something that could sit out for a while without refrigeration and to which people could help themselves. Not only did this salad work, it was a surprisingly big hit. I hope we’ll be able to see many more friends this year and I will still rely on this dependable make-ahead Lima bean salad.

Christmas Lima Salad

LIMA BEAN SALAD

  • 1 lb large dry Lima beans (I use the Christmas Lima’s ordered from Rancho Gordo,    bought at the 97th St farmers’ market from J & A Farms,  or from North Bay Trading) cooked and drained
  • 1/2-3/4 cup Vidalia or red onion, finely chopped
  • 1 cup celery, finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup chopped parsley or dill or a combination

Optional add-ins:

Currants or raisins, orange segments, finely chopped carrots, minced jalapeños, finely chopped red, yellow or orange bell peppers, chopped scallions, crumbled feta or goat cheese

Whisk together:

  • 2 large cloves garlic, grated or pressed
  • Zest (about 1 tsp) and juice (about 2 TBs) from 1 lemon
  • Zest (about 1 tsp) and juice (about 2 TBs) from 1/2 orange
  • 1 TBs cider vinegar
  • 1 TBs Dijon mustard
  • 4 TBs olive oil
  • 2 tsps ground cumin
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 2 tsps kosher or sea salt (a little less or more according to your taste)

Pour dressing over beans and vegetables and mix well, trying not to mash the beans. Serve immediately or refrigerate for 2-3 days. Like most marinated foods, the flavor is better on the second day.

Cone 1 red clay bowl with white slip and blue stain
by Wayne Branum
Verso of red clay bowl
by Wayne Branum

When You Can’t Find Your Favorite Black Beans And Rice Near You, Make Them Yourself

Black Beans and Rice
Square Earthenware Bowl by Joe Pintz

Black beans and rice were one of our most reliable dining out options when our son was young. He loved eating rice and beans and we were happy to eat something I didn’t cook. Our two favorite spots were Café Con Leche, a block away from us, and La Rosita de Broadway, a short walk and a good locale to meet friends. They were casual, neighborhood hang outs (Café Con Leche sponsored Little League teams for years) and liked messy kids and cocktail sipping adults equally, the kind of restaurant we could use more of in our communities. Sadly both those places are long closed. This winter, when we got a yearning for rice and beans, I learned to make them myself. 

The sofrito for this recipe is
garlic, green pepper and onion

Almost every recipe for black beans and rice I consulted had similar ingredients with a few variants. Beans, onions, garlic, bay leaves, peppers and oregano appeared in all of them. Some used red peppers instead of green, some added cayenne or chili powder and some included tomatoes, cumin, cinnamon or orange juice. One even used rum. I tried the ingredients that sounded good to me and then adjusted the spices to try to recapture the flavor in my memory. I don’t remember the beans being spicy but I put out cayenne and hot sauce to suit my family’s preferences. Some recipes call for ham hocks or bacon but I think a little smoked paprika does the same job without the extra fat and salt. If you want more vegetables, add some cut up carrots in the last 10 minutes of cooking or parsley, spinach or arugula just a couple of minutes before you serve the beans. 

Beans soak up all the flavor of the broth as it cooks down
Burrito made with these black beans and brown rice
Oblong bowl by Joe Pintz
Cooking beans from scratch is easy and economical

I almost always start with dry beans (unless I am in a hurry) because I like the texture better. They just take soaking and simmering, nothing complicated. But canned beans work fine, too. And if you use a rice cooker, you don’t even have to think about your rice cooking while you pay attention to seasoning the beans. My dishwashing husband thanks the day we got our rice cooker and I stopped burning rice into the bottom of our pots! I like either brown (very non-traditional) or white basmati rice for this dish. Rosita (Cuban) and Café Con Leche (Dominican) served a choice of white or yellow rice. I make it both ways, depending on my mood. If you are willing to veer non-traditionally, a little dried celery and mushrooms are really tasty additions to the rice. For white, I add garlic and oil. For yellow, I add some turmeric or saffron to color the rice, not so much for flavor as for the nostalgia. Rosita’s and the Café may be gone but when I cook this recipe, I conjure up the savory flavor of those beans and rice and the good times we had eating there.

Black Beans and Yellow Rice
Earthenware bowl by Joe Pintz

BLACK BEANS AND RICE

  • 1 lb dry black beans, soaked, cooked with bay leaves and drained or four 15oz cans of black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 2 TB olive oil
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 4-6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 pepper (poblano, jalapeño or green bell), diced finely
  • 1 TB ground cumin
  • 1 TB dried oregano
  • 1 TB kosher salt (or a little less or more to your preference)
  • 1 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika, optional
  • 1 quart broth (chicken, vegetable, bean cooking liquid or some combination)
  • 1 TB cider vinegar
  • 2 carrots, cut in bite sized pieces (optional)
  • Chopped cilantro to top/garnish

2 cup (dry) basmati rice, rinsed, drained and cooked with broth, smashed garlic, a little oil and salt, according to directions. For white rice, I use 1 1/2 cups liquid for 1 cup dry rice. For brown, 2 cups liquid for 1 cup dry rice. 1/2 tsp turmeric and 1/4 tsp paprika or 1 pinch saffron, optional, to make rice yellow. 

Heat the oil on medium heat in a large skillet or medium stockpot. Add onion and sauté 2-3 minutes, until translucent but not browning. Add green pepper and garlic and sauté 1-2 minutes longer to soften. 

Add cumin, oregano, salt and black pepper, cook about 30 seconds and then add broth. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. 

Add the cooked beans and vinegar and continue to simmer about 20 minutes, until beans are flavorful and the broth has reduced and thickened. Adjust seasonings to taste.

If you want more vegetables, add chopped carrots about 10 minutes before beans are finished or add thin green, like arugula or spinach, in the last minute or two of cooking. 

Serve with prepared rice, lime wedges, chopped cilantro and hot sauce. 

Oblong earthenware bowl
by Joe Pintz

Joe Pintz makes earthenware pots with rich surfaces that remind me of colorfield painting. The forms are simple, elegant, extremely useful and pleasurable to use, the ultimate compliment for pottery, to my mind.

Verso of oblong earthenware bowl
by Joe Pintz

Baked Beans Made With Black Eyed Peas – Because We Need All The Luck We Can Get In The New Year!

Baked Beans Made With Black Eyed Peas
Handled Red Stoneware Soup Bowls by Eshelman Pottery

Hoppin’ John, a bean dish made with black eyed peas, is traditionally eaten in the Southern United States on New Year’s Day to bring good luck and prosperity for the coming year. My husband and I have never been big fans of black eyed peas but we eat them happily when offered on a New Year’s buffet because who doesn’t need a little prosperity. Given that we need all the luck we can get this year, I was determined to find a way to cook them that we would enjoy. 

Cooked black eyed peas ready to sauce

Both of us love baked beans so I prepared them my favorite way but substituted black eyed peas. I am not talking about the anemic Heinz version of tomato-y tinned beans that both our fathers loved. Homemade baked beans can be savory and sweet and really delicious. I spiced up my recipe with ginger and cayenne so it is not only tasty but also warming on these cold days. Lots of substitutions are possible. Prepared yellow mustard can stand in for dry (2 TBs instead of 2 tsps), brown sugar or maple syrup can replace the molasses and ketchup or tomato sauce can be used instead of tomato paste. If you don’t like thyme or don’t want to use Worcestershire sauce, just leave them out. And if you don’t want to soak and cook dried peas, just use canned. In fact, if you don’t have or really don’t want to use black eyed peas, just use navy peas, Alubia Bianca or any small white beans.

A different sofrito with onion, garlic, ginger and jalapeño
Ready to bake

Black eyed peas (also known as cowpeas) are quite nutritious with good amounts of minerals, fiber and folate. When baked as in this recipe, they can last in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or be frozen and reheated weeks later. Cook once and eat several times! Providing warmth, multiple meals and nutrition alongside the hope for prosperity, baked black eyed peas are a pretty great start to the year.

Wishing you all a happier New Year in which, hopefully, we’ll be able to gather and be together again!

Baked Black Eyed Peas
Red Stoneware Bowls by Eshelman Pottery

BAKED BLACK EYED PEAS 

  • 1 lb. dry black eyed peas, soaked, cooked and drained (reserve cooking liquid)
  • 2 TBs olive, avocado or grape seed oil
  • 1 onion, diced (1 heaping cup)
  • 2-3 cloves garlic, minced (1 TBs)
  • 1 small knob of fresh ginger, minced (1 tsp-1 TBs as you prefer)
  • 1 fresh poblano or jalapeño pepper, diced (or just a green pepper will do) – optional
  • 2 tsp dry mustard powder or 2 TBs prepared yellow mustard
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne
  • 3 TBs tomato paste or 1/4 cup ketchup
  • 3 TBs apple cider vinegar
  • 2 TBs soy sauce or tamari
  • 3/4 – 1 cup molasses (depending on how sweet you like it. Start with less and add more at the end if you need it)
  • 1 1/2 cup bean cooking liquid (or stock)
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce (optional)
  • 1 cinnamon stick, broken in half (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Heat oil in a medium-large Dutch oven or bean pot  over medium heat.

Add onion and sauté a few minutes until it starts to wilt.

Add garlic, ginger and pepper, if using, and sauté another 1-2 minutes.

Add mustard powder, paprika, thyme and cayenne and sauté briefly to toast.

Add tomato paste, vinegar, soy sauce, molasses, bean liquid, cinnamon stick and Worcestershire. Stir and bring to a simmer. Turn off heat and add cooked beans. Stir well, cover and bake for 1 hour, removing the lid for the last 10 minutes if still very liquid.

Serve warm. Great with cornbread, polenta or grits, black bread, baked potatoes or toast and greens for a complete meal or serve with sausages for an rib-sticking entree. 

Keep leftovers in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Freezes well. Serves 6-8 for a main course.

12/29/2020 Full Cold Moon