Dear Steve,
I’m sending you this little note to let you know that I am no longer a beanist, and it’s all because of you!
Thank you so much for your advice and for opening my eyes to the delicious world of real beans.
With warmest regards,
Ann
We were in a little shop in Ouray when I spotted the bag of local beans (this is also where we spotted the cheese). I had been hiked, but not fed, and was feeling a little giddy from the altitude and hunger. This is the only way that I can understand why I grabbed a bag of the beans and bought them.
I’m a beanist. I hate beans.
Then we were in Boulder and I bought more beans, at the farmer’s market. I asked the girl selling the beans if they were very fresh, and she said yes. Then I asked her how to cook the beans, and she went into a long, tortured, circuitous, labyrinthine and bewildering explanation that involved soaking and changing water and soaking some more and cooking all day and sacrificing virgins, and I very nearly threw the beans back at her.
No. These are the very things that made me a beanist in the first place.
But then I heard a little voice at the back of my head, “Ann… Ann! She said they’re fresh beans! Don’t listen to her claptrappy gobbleydegook! Listen to me! Mr. Rancho Gordo! Just get the beans home, then worry about cooking them.”
And so I resisted all impulses to throw the bag of yellow legumes back in the earnest hippie girl’s face and shelled (heh) out a few dollars for my pound of beans.
The Boy and I were both feeling a little pudgy after all the good eating in Colorado so a nice, healthy meal was on the docket our first weekend home.
I wanted beans in their very most pure state.
But, no matter how great the beans are, a plate of beans is not dinner (even if they are accompanied by a gorgeous salad of mizuna and chive blossoms).
So I conceived a multigrain pilaf. It started with farro. Then I added roasted barley groats. Then I added quinoa.
This is not the kind of meal you want to serve to guests. They will never forgive you for the, um, musicality, it will induce. But for two people searching for a virtuous Sunday night dinner? Couldn’t be tastier or more apt!
I followed Steve’s directions exactly, or as exactly as I can follow any recipe, and the beans turned out perfect. Fragrant, savory and really quite delicate, now I get it. If your beans are good, cooking dried beans is so easy there’s really no reason to ever go back to canned.
So Steve, thanks again!
Now I just wish we were going to be in San Fran on a Ferry Market day so I could buy more good beans, but, alas.
Do you give bean farm tours? There’s no reason to worry, I won’t hurt the beans. I’m a beanie now!
Head below the jump for the recipes for Beans ala Steve and Tres Grainies Pilaf.
Beans ala Steve
prep time: 10 minutes + 4-6 hours ~ cooking time: 2 hours
- 1 Purple Onion, roughly chopped
- 2 head + tender stalks Green or Spring Garlic, roughly chopped
- Olive Oil
- 1 cup Yellow Indian Woman Beans
Wash and pick-over the beans and place in a bowl to soak for 4-6 hours.
When ready to cook the beans, place a pot over medium heat. Add a glug of olive oil and sautée the onions until just beginning to soften. Add the garlic and allow to cook a few minutes more.
Add the beans and their soaking water plus enough to cover by about 1 inch (if necessary).
Bring to a boil then reduce to the barest simmer.
As Steve says: “I like to see how low I can go and still get the occasional simmering bubble.”
Allow the beans to cook in this way, stirring occasionally, for about two hours (my beans were done a little sooner, so make sure you check, no one likes mooshie beans, unless that’s what you’re after). Add salt at the very end, allowing it a few minutes to be absorbed by the beans.
Serve the beans in a bowl with a piece of crusty bread or mixed into a Tres Grainies Pilaf. The pot liqueur is awesome, so make sure you have something to soak it up with!
Tres Grainies Pilaf
prep time: 15 minutes ~ cooking time: an hour or so
- Olive Oil
- Water
- Salt
- 1/2 c. Kasha
- 1 c. Red Quinoa
- 1/2 c. Farro
- 1/2 Onion, finely chopped
- 1 head Green or Spring Garlic, finely chopped
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil (the good stuff)
- 1/4 c. Rick’s Picks Pepi Pep Peps or other pickled peppers chopped finely + 1/4 of the Brine
Place the Kasha + 1 c. water in a small pot over high heat. Add a pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer, cover and cook 12 minutes. Place in a bowl and allow to cool.
Clean and dry the pot.
Place the Quinoa in the pot over medium heat. Allow the Quinoa to roast, moving constantly until the grains begin to pop. Carefully add 1 cup of water and a healthy pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and allow to cook for 15 minutes or until all the grains have unfurled. Add the Quinoa to the bowl with the Kasha, mix to combine and set aside to cool.
Clean and dry the pot.
Place the Farro + 1 c. water in the pot over high heat. Add a pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer, cover and cook for 30 minutes.
Add the Farro to the bowl with the Kasha and the Quinoa.
Add the onions and garlic, a very healthy glug of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, the peppers and the brine. Mix and taste. Does it need more of anything? More brine? More salt? Season to taste and set aside to cool. The pilaf is best at room temperature.
Serve with Beans ala Steve and enjoy!
Mary said,
June 6, 2007 @ 9:58 am
Beans are awesome. I’m glad you’ve gotten beyond your closed minded ways and opened your heart to beans. I put in my order at rancho gordo a couple of days ago and am excitedly waiting for my bags of beans. To heck with the musicality.
sher said,
June 6, 2007 @ 10:03 am
Well, you could serve those me ANYTIME! I would just take a Beano tablet before I started eating them. I adore beans. It’s hard to grow up in the South and avoid eating them. I love the way you made those beauties. :)
Terry B said,
June 6, 2007 @ 10:10 am
Welcome to the wonderful world of bean eating, Ann! We like beans. A lot. Fresh or canned. Fresh are indeed easy, but they require a bit of planning ahead, a skill I’ve not completely mastered and am not likely to.
laura k said,
June 6, 2007 @ 10:46 am
Here’s the good news: They sell Rancho Gordo beans at the Ferry Plaza Marketplace all week long, and not just on a farmers’ market day. The stands set up inside are permanent. So you can still find them! Whooo! I wanted to buy a bag when we were out there, but somehow it slipped my mind and now I’m regretting it. Alas.
Susan in Italy said,
June 6, 2007 @ 2:14 pm
You’ve got a reserved spot among the beanies. There’s one simple bean dish that I turned into a whole meal: Black beans soaked and boiled for about 2 hours with 1 tbsp lard (yeah lard!), 1/2 white onion, chopped and a few sprigs of epazote. Epazote is like magic for black beans. I made those beans to go into a recipe but I tasted them and ended up eating most of the batch in the first sitting and never got around to the recipe.
ann said,
June 6, 2007 @ 7:46 pm
Mary — It feels good to have an open heart :-)
Sher — hehe, you betcha!
TerryB — I am the mistress of planning ahead (except when I’m not, its a fine line)
Laura K — That is good new indeed! Thanks so much for the info!
Susan — YUM. I even know where to get lard! Thanks for the recipe!
Christina said,
June 6, 2007 @ 9:36 pm
Oh so yummy. Now that you’ve tasted good beans, I know you’re going to start experimenting like mad. At my farmers’ market, a vendor sells a variety of dried beans–my favorite of his are the Christmas limas. The cook up huge, larger than quarters, have the texture of mashed potatoes on the interior, and taste amazing. Oh, and they are so very fun to eat.
I can’t wait to see where you take the exploration of this great food. Be sure to share your ideas, because I know they’ll be wonderful.
Toni said,
June 6, 2007 @ 11:46 pm
Loved your description of the hippy girl’s directions on how to cook beans! And glad to know you’ve gotten on board with one of the most perfect vegetables ever created. (Except, of course, for the musicality issue. But since I live with only a cat, that’s not a problem!)
Your dish looks absolutely fantastic! I loved what you put together - who wudda thunk? Looking forward to the recipe.
Lydia said,
June 7, 2007 @ 5:24 am
Fresh beans are a total revelation! I didn’t buy any in Ouray when I passed through a few years ago, but I did buy them at a roadside stand along the high road from Albuquerque to Santa Fe, and they were the best beans I’ve ever had. Now when I see those brand-name beans in plastic bags in the supermarket, I pass them by.
Luisa said,
June 7, 2007 @ 9:50 am
I am SO relieved that you have seen the light. Because hating beans? Is so sad. :)
Steve Sando said,
June 7, 2007 @ 11:10 am
This is the nicest love letter ever! What’s even funnier is your dish is like something I would make for myself on any given weeknight! Not for company but great anyway.
You can put a few of the beans in the ground and grow them. And the bean flowers are edible!
ann said,
June 7, 2007 @ 8:14 pm
Christina — Christmas limas?? Is there anyway we could work out a trade? Perhaps I could send you some, uh, hot dogs? I dunno, what would you want from New York? I’d really love to get my hands on some of those!
Toni — I love making fun of hippie girls, I can’t help it! I think it’s all my time growing up on the East Coast and making fun of Deadheads… I hope I didn’t insult anyone (too badly).
Lydia — I know… I think I’m spoiled for beans forever!
Luisa — I am sad aren’t i ;-)
Steve — Thanks for the tip (again)! I think I will definitely plant some of my beans! And thanks again for restoring my faith, I appreciate it.
Rose said,
June 8, 2007 @ 9:31 am
Hi ann, I saw your article about couscoussier on kitchen therapy and I think this is just wonderful that you use it to make couscous because this is the best way to have an authentic north african couscous. Couscous to me is part of my roots and It may sound weird but I am so happy to see somebody steaming their couscous instead of soaking it.
Great to have discover your website too.
Have a great weekend.
Rose
Glenna said,
June 9, 2007 @ 3:42 am
Love you “converstion” story. Love beans too and yours look delish.
Christina said,
June 9, 2007 @ 10:29 am
Of course we can work out a trade. Let me think of a New York specialty that I’d like in the next couple of days, and we’ll go for it. I pick up a bag of Christmas limas for you today at the farmers’ market.
skat said,
June 9, 2007 @ 8:29 pm
Ha! Rancho Gordo made me swing for beans, too. Well met, and in good company.
ann said,
June 9, 2007 @ 10:55 pm
Hi Rose! — I love your blog! It’s so wonderful. And it’s so nice to “meet” another couscous fanatic!
Glenna — thanks! what a nice compliment.
Christina — It’s on. think of something nice, I’ll email you soon
S’kat — That is funny! Steve is like the bean prophet.
sam said,
June 24, 2007 @ 12:17 pm
I have had a similar post planned for a while too but I havent written it yet - Steve has made a beaneater out of a beanhater with me as well. He makes me swoon with his bean samples. I don’t know what is happening to me.
I found out you had written this post when I was at the market yesterday hanging with Steve himself, Cookiecrumb, Cooking with Amy, Christine Cooks and Kalyn’s Kitchen. How’s that for a bit of namedropping??? Hope you had fun with Shuna too.
xxx
sam
ann said,
June 24, 2007 @ 4:03 pm
Hi Sam! wow, thanks for telling me about that little meeting of the foodie minds out there in San Fran! what a fun mental picture! Dinner with Shuna was a blast! I can’t wait to see her (and maybe some other San Fran foodies?) when we’re out there in August.