Here's the thing about dried beans: We think they have to cook for hours. We think we should eat them because they are good for us. We don't think we like them unless they are baked or refried.
Try again! Beans do take a bit of time. They are good for us and they taste good. Beans are versatile. They match with other beans, grains and fresh vegetables for great meals.
At The Purple Onion, our dried bean bar includes pinto, navy, butter and black beans along with colorful Anasazi and October beans, Mexican yellow, lentils and lima beans. We also carry premixed bean and grain products.
Combined with fresh vegetables from the produce counter, spices and herbs and canned stocks and tomato product, you have everything for a tasty meal. During cool months, a simmering bean soup fills the house with comforting aromas.
According to The Bean Institute, dried beans may vary in flavor, size, color and shape, yet their nutritional composition is quite similar. They are packed with protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals and are low in fat. They may help reduce heart disease, osteoporosis and certain cancers, as well as heart disease and cancer risk and reduce blood cholesterol levels.
All good news, but we hope you will try them because they are so tasty. Challenge yourself to try new recipes! You can introduce international flair to your menus with recipes from different countries. Just as Appalachian cooks have their favorite pinto bean recipes, German cooks have different takes on lentil soup, rich with carrots, potatoes and onions and flavored with a ham hock or beef bones. Italian renditions of pasta e fagioli (pasta and bean soup) are numerous.
Start your bean tasting with this all-American Senate Bean Soup, served in the U.S. Senate cafeteria!
Senate Bean Soup
Makes 8 servings
1 pound dried white beans
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup olive oil
4 leeks, white and light green parts well washed and chopped (1 ½ cups)
4 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped (1 cup)
2 stalks celery, chopped (1/2 cup)
1 ½ to 2 pounds smoked ham hocks, excess fat removed
2 cups chicken broth
4 cups beef broth
2 cups water
½ teaspoon chopped fresh sage or ¼ teaspoon crumbled dry sage leaves
1 bay leaf
Soak beans by preferred method (see sidebar). Drain.
Heat butter with oil in large, heavy Dutch oven or stock pot over medium low heat. Add leeks and cook 2 minutes. Add garlic, carrots and celery; cook 5 minutes. Add drained beans, ham hocks, chicken broth, beef broth, water, sage and bay leaf. Bring to boiling. Lower heat and cover, simmer. Stir occasionally and cook until beans are tender, about 1 ½ hours.
Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Discard bay leaf. Remove ham hocks and cut off meat. Chop into pieces and set aside.
Place 4 cups of bean mixture - in two batches - in food processor or blender. Whirl until smooth. Return to pot, add reserved ham and warm through.
Sprinkle with chopped parsley if you wish.
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To serve alongside, here's a tasty cornbread recipe that features the Jackson Mill cornmeal sold at the WV Marketplace at Capitol Market.
Buttermilk Corn Bread
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons double-acting baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
¾ cup yellow stone-ground cornmeal
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
3 to 4 tablespoons melted unsalted butter or bacon drippings
Have all ingredients at room temperature.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease a 9-inch cast-iron skillet or 9 by 9 inch baking pan and place in oven.
Sift all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar and salt together in large bowl. Add cornmeal and mix.
Combine buttermilk, eggs and melted butter or bacon drippings. Beat well.
Stir liquid ingredients into dry ingredients with a few swift strokes to just combine.
Pour into heated skillet or baking pan. Bake 25 to 30 minutes.
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To cook with dried beans, follow these simple steps:
n Clean your beans of any debris by placing them on a cooking tray and discarding any leaves, small stones and broken beans that might be in the mix.
n Rinse the beans by placing them in a colander and running cold water over them.
n Soak your beans to reduce the cooking time and to break down the compounds that cause flatulence. You can use one of three methods: hot soak, traditional soak and quick soak. In any case remember that bean will swell as they soak so use a pot large enough to accommodate that! Most bean recipes will offer recommendations on which to use.
n Cook your beans. Beans generally take from 30 minutes to two hours to cook, depending on the variety. But they all like the same treatment. Cook at a gentle simmer and add warm water periodically to keep the beans covered. Stir your beans occasionally and test for tenderness.
n Place beans in a large pot and add 10 cups of water for every 2 cups of beans.
n Heat to boiling and boil for an additional 2 to 3 minutes.
n Remove beans from heat, cover and let stand for 4 to 24 hours.
n Drain beans and discard soak water.
n Rinse beans with fresh, cool water.
n Pour cold water over beans to cover.
n Soak beans for 8 hours or overnight.
n Drain beans and discard soak water (NOTE: cold water starts but does not complete the rehydration process so the beans will appear wrinkled after soaking. They will fully rehydrate during cooking.)
n Rinse beans with fresh, cool water.
n Place beans in a large pot and add 6 cups of water for every 2 cups of beans.
n Bring to boil and boil for an additional 2 to 3 minutes.
n Remove beans from heat, cover, and let stand for 1 hour.
n Drain beans and discard soak water.
n Rinse beans with fresh, cool water.
Along with his wife, Felicia, Allan Hathaway is the co-owner of The Purple Onion and WV Marketplace at the Capitol Market. For more information, visit their web pages, capitolmarket.net/merchants/purple-onion and capitolmarket.net/merchants/wv-market place; call the Purple Onion at 304-342-4414 or WV Marketplace at 304-720-2244. Follow them on Facebook, and email Allan at purpleonionco@aol.com.