Summer is a great time for dried beans.
At The Purple Onion, we find that we sell dried beans all year. While some of us think of protein-packed legumes as cold-weather foods, others enjoy them during the warmer seasons, too. And there are plenty of tasty recipes that mix the best of our farm-fresh summer produce with beans of all types.
It takes a little planning to cook dried beans, but you get a good deal for your dollar and a better tasting bean than the canned variety - although when time is short, we're known to open and drain a can or two.
Most beans, except for small ones like adzukis and lentils, need to soak in plenty of water in a large bowl for eight hours before cooking. When you're ready to cook them, be sure you have drained and rinsed them carefully, then put them in a large heavy-bottomed pot.
Once the water comes to a boil, lower the temperature to simmer. The beans need room to move around while they are cooking.
You'll know they are done when they are creamy in the center. If your beans split or burst at the seams, you're either cooking them at too vigorous a boil or they are overdone.
Trying to decide what summer dish you are going to make with your beans can be fun. The good news is beans will pair well with a variety of vegetables and spices to give you the flavor, texture and crunch for a satisfying dish.
Thinking Tex-Mex? Try a black bean salad that's refreshing, tangy and versatile enough to be an appetizer, salad or taco topping.
Thinking bratwursts on the grill? Choose the tasty lentil, one of the small beans that don't need an overnight soak.
Cook them in a large pot of water for 20 minutes, add diced carrots and sweet onions to the lentils, then dress with a bright mustard vinaigrette or Appalachian Mountain's Wilted Lettuce Dressing, available at West Virginia Marketplace, our sister store at Capitol Market.
A mixed salad of beans and wheat berries with fresh tomatoes and spinach is perfect with grilled meats and fish.
We've given you a basic recipe with our French bean and wheat berry salad. Feel free to improvise, though. Add peeled and diced cucumber, chopped sweet banana peppers, or bright red pepper to this versatile salad.
And what would summer be without a barbecue that included homemade baked beans?
Give your family and friends a tasty surprise with batch that features lima beans rather than navy beans. The creamy, buttery taste of the limas will have you rethinking your bean-pot ingredients.
Give beans a chance to share the spotlight with your favorite summer produce and you'll be glad you did.
1½ tablespoons minced cilantro
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon lime juice
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1½ - 2 cups cooked black beans (or 1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained)
½ cup chopped tomato
2 tablespoons chopped green onion or red onion
1 tablespoon chopped, seeded jalapeño
¼ cup avocado, peeled and diced
4 cups mixes salad greens
Combine first five ingredients in a large bowl.
Whisk to combine.
Add beans, tomato, onion, jalapeño and avocado.
Toss well.
Cover and chill for two hours.
Serve over salad greens, or serve as an appetizer with tortilla chips or a topping on tacos.
(Recipe from Cooking Light magazine)
10 servings
2 cups cooked wheat berries
2 cups cooked Flageolet beans
1 cup scallions, sliced on diagonal
1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
2 cups fresh spinach, chopped
Appalachian Mountain Orange-Berry Basil Salad Dressing
Soak one cup Flageolet beans overnight.
Drain water and rinse beans.
Place beans in a pot, cover with water.
Bring water to a boil, reduce to simmer.
Cover beans and cook 1 hour.
Cool.
Rinse 1 cup wheat berries under cool running water.
Place in a large, heavy saucepan.
Add water and salt.
Bring to a boil over high heat, and then reduce to a simmer.
Cover and cook for one hour, stirring occasionally.
Drain and rinse.
Cool.
Place cooled beans and berries in a large bowl.
Add scallions, tomatoes and spinach.
Blend together.
Add salad dressing and mix to combine.
Refrigerate at least 2 hours up to overnight.
Taste for additional dressing, salt and pepper before serving.
12 servings
4 cups dried lima beans
1 pound thickly sliced bacon, diced
5-6 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 ¼ cups boiling water
6 tablespoons molasses
Combine beans with cold water to cover in large saucepan and let soak overnight.
Drain well.
Cover again with cold water and bring to a boil over medium high heat.
Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally until tender, about 45 minutes.
Drain well.
Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
Transfer beans to a 3-quart bean pot or earthenware bowl.
Add bacon and stir gently.
Combine next five ingredients with ¼ cup boiling water and blend well.
Stir in molasses.
Pour over beans, then add remaining cup of boiling water.
Cover and bake 3 to 4 hours, adding more hot water if beans are dry.
Stir through several times.
Increase oven temperature to 300 degrees and bake beans, uncovered, until tender and brown on top, about 45 minutes.
(Beans can be made up to two days ahead and reheated before serving.)
(Recipe by Richard Nelson and featured in Bon Appetit, July 1980)
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-marketplace; 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.