Emily Nunn on Beans and Health

Emily Nunn is one of my favorite writers. Her Comfort Food Diaries is a classic and her Twitter feed is essential reading. I asked her what she’s thinking about beans and health for the new year. – Steve

According to the food world, beans are having “a moment.” Well, pardon us, but beans—which are the world’s second most important food source, after grains/grasses— have been a mainstay in the Americas for centuries (and the Old World began cultivating and eating them about 10,000 years ago). There’s a very good reason for their longevity, too. Beans make the human body happy—and not in that fleeting I-just-ate-a-bag-of-Fritos way. According to Dawn Jackson Blatner, a Chicago RDN and author of “The Flexitarian Diet” and “Superfood Swap, “if you look at world nutrition, you’ll see that some of the healthiest countries consume beans as a part of their regular diet.” Beans are nutrient dense: they contain a cache of (plant) protein and fiber, vitamins and minerals (iron, zinc, potassium, and folate), and healthy phytochemicals and antioxidants that make them small but powerful disease fighters. “A balanced diet that includes beans may improve digestive health and decrease risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer,” she says. And for those of you who believe that lean meat is the only protein that will keep you at your fighting weight, Blatner adds: “Beans can keep you feeling full longer, which means greater appetite control. And in terms of calories (which are what matters when it comes to weight), they only have 125 per 1/2 cup.” Another plus: since beans, legumes, and pulses are a part of virtually every cuisine, there’s no lack of great recipes for preparing them. Bottom line: beans are not some crazy fad, but you’d almost have to be nuts not to eat them. 

(You can get cooking now with our recipes on our website. And for more nutrition-related bean facts, check out the Bean Institute)

Posole or Pozole? A Rose By Any Other Name

Recently on Twitter, the very talented Pati Jinich wrote that she was irked by the word posole. “It is Pozole with a Z!!!! Posole is nothing, nada!! Posole equals not Pozole. Sorry and good night.”, she wrote. Now I admire Patti a lot but I think she got this one wrong, along with many of her enthusiastic followers who were quick to throw posole under the bus.

My response was: “Posole is an old tradition from the US Southwest. It refers to the grain and the final dish. It’s hundreds of years old and to deny this is to deny how indigenous cultures refused to stagnate. ”

I understand that good Mexican food is under siege and its advocates have to stand their ground. How many chefs are discovering tacos and are eager to share their new love (and “interesting” new spins) on food that many of us discovered long ago? The talented Ina Garten created a dish that might be delicious and it might have corn in it, but it’s not pozole by anyone’s standards other than hers. Taco Bell created a snack called a chalupa and it has nothing to do with the well-established Poblano treat that has been called a chalupa for generations. As writer Javier Cabral writes, “Adding black beans and lime juice to things do not automatically make it Mexican.”

I was once in the lovely town of San Miguel de Allende with a group of fellow gringo tourists. San Miguel is a very unusual town with an exceptionally large ex-pat US population. Or should I say, US immigrant population? Whatever it is, whether you like SMA or not, it’s not very typical. One woman insisted that a bowl of guacamole and chips was a proper way to start a meal in Mexico. I suggested that she may want to start her meal this way, but it’s not all the common, and in fact, I’d never observed Mexicans doing this. She asked the waiter if she could order this and he, of course, brought out a big bowl of chips and guacamole and she turned to me and said, “See! They do this here.” I had to bite my tongue.

I have to watch my own behavior, as well. Clearly, I am obsessed with Mexican food and culture and even though I travel there often, I am aware of my own tourist status and try to avoid speaking in absolutes. I would love to be considered someone who is helping the situation more than hurting it. I don’t want to be another attack on traditional Mexican culture that will need to be defended by someone who knows more.

With all of this, I understand being irked by posole. But this isn’t like a chalupa. This tradition from the American southwest has been around for generations and has morphed into its own thing, including taking freshly cooked nixtamal and drying it for use later, a very clever technique not used by the Mexicans who came up with the very clever technique of making nixtamal. And I would argue even further that this product is superior to the canned hominy most everyone uses instead of making fresh nixtamal. If you want to start a cause, it should be against canned hominy, which has almost no flavor and provides a texture not unlike chicken cartilage.

In New Mexico, posole refers to both the grain and the final dish. It’s a much more casual ingredient than in Mexico. A bowl of posole in a chile sauce is a common side dish. Huntley Dent says in his seminal book, The Feast of Santa Fe, that the difference between everyday posole and feast-day posole is the amount of pork. Everyday posole is a thing. It’s not Mexican but it’s from the same roots and I think it should be embraced as an example of indigenous cultures adapting, creating, and celebrating nixtamal.

When I announced that I was writing a book on pozole, one commenter scolded me for adding pork and told me I should stick to pozole’s pre-colonial roots. Well, if I were to follow her advice, I’d have had to use the flesh of my captured soldiers for protein and I’m just not up for that. Corn and nixtamal have made their way far further north and south than their Mesoamerican origins. It’s bound to change and watching the journey is part of the fun.

Did I mention my new book? Never one to pass up an opportunity when it’s knocking, my next book, The Rancho Gordo Pozole Book, comes out this November.

Garbanzo, Chorizo, and Red Pepper Salad

I get tired of people complaining about cooking in the summer. That is until I get tired of cooking in the heat. Then I understand.

Jars of roasted red peppers and that package of Spanish chorizo were offering to help me with my leftover garbanzo beans. I accepted.

Olive oil, sherry vinegar, some red onion, and some parsley and then dinner was ready. If you wanted to omit the chorizo and make this vegan, be sure and add a spoonful of smoked Pimenton.


Summer Heirloom Bean Casserole (Shhhh….It’s almost all from leftovers)

First I will tell you that I meant to make Deb Perelman’s Pizza Beans. This Smitten Kitchen recipe has been one of the most talked-about and produced recipes I’ve ever known. Members of our Bean Club make it constantly and collectively they’ve made it a classic. I have to admit that I’ve never made it.

Last weekend I was determined to try it, especially knowing that I had a batch of Royal Corona beans sitting in my fridge. I dutifully printed out Deb’s recipe and bought the needed ingredients at my grocery store.

As it turns out, we suffered an immense heatwave and some weekends are for fun in the kitchen and some weekends are for not moving much off the couch. You can guess where I’m going here.

If you make my version and you like it, please let’s give credit to Smitten Kitchen. If not, it’s all my fault for being lazy. Actually, it would be hard to fault either version.

Another wonderful aspect of this dish was that the ingredients were mostly leftovers. I had made the beans the day before. The cherry tomatoes were left from my CSA delivery and the jar of Trader Joe’s roasted red peppers was opened for a “session” of goat cheese and Ak-Mak crackers earlier in the week. I bought the mozzarella to make Deb’s version (I normally buy the wet, fresh kind) but the parma was already on hand in the fridge. Sometimes it pays to lack ambition.

This was perfect with a green salad. Carb-shy friends who miss pizza will especially appreciate this meal.

Summer Heirloom Bean Casserole

2 cups cooked Rancho Gordo Royal Corona beans, drained
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup roasted red peppers, chopped roughly
4 sprigs of thyme, leaves stripped and stems discarded
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup mozzarella cheese (low moisture, not fresh), grated
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat the oven to 475F. Mix the beans, tomatoes, peppers, thyme, salt, pepper, and olive oil together and pour into an oven-safe casserole. Top with the two kinds of cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes. The top should be browned and the beans bubbling.

Note: If you have a larger casserole, you may need additional cheese to cover the whole dish. I don’t think many will complain about extra cheese.

Breakfast of Champions: Eggs in Green Salsa with Epazote

I’ve been in Mexico working on a project and this dish stood out. Scrambled eggs cooked separately and then drowned in tomatillo salsa, topped with a handful of chopped epazote.

I love epazote. You might know how well it works with beans, black beans in particular, but it’s also terrific in a quesadilla. It likes cheese a lot. Mushrooms and octopus, too. It turns out eggs are also a natural partner.

Simple and perfect. Don’t forget the tortillas.

Pasta e Fagioli a la Omnivore (or Il Nostro Caro Angelo)

Is this not a thing of beauty? A bowl of cranberry (Borlotti) beans with homemade pasta in a sauce of bean broth, chicken broth, and vegetables. It’s moist and delicious but not at all soupy. A perfect balance of beans, pasta, and inspiration.

Angelo with my son, Nico, before a failed, but fun, turkey hunt.

Last week Angelo Gorro of Omnivore Salt (and sauces, etc) came by for a visit and pulled out all the stops with his own pasta, his own salume, his own sausage and of course his own salt.

The variations on pasta e fagioli (pasta and beans) are endless. I have yet to meet one that I haven’t liked. You just know it was created to deal with leftovers. Or to feed a crowd on a budget.

The “Il Nostro Caro Angelo” in the title refers to a Lucio Battisti song. The poor Italians always have to suffer through my enthusiasm for their pop music. It’s fun until I’ve had a few and insist on singing. Here’s a nice version by Mina.

Out of season, canned tomatoes are fine. Angelo had found a can of cherry tomatoes and these were great. Along with the onions and garlic, he sauted a lot of celery.

One of my favorite people, Sarah Londsdale, played photographer for the day. Most of these photos are hers.

You probably know about the salt. The Sicilia sauce was new to me. It’s tomato-based and versatile. On a whim, I drained a cup of the beans and then added a spoonful of the Sicilia sauce and it was perfect. I think white beans would be just as satisfying, just different. Lots of people ask me for “recipes” and here’s a new one: Beans and this sauce. Ta-da!

Exact measurements aren’t possible. Angelo added the cooked pasta to the soffritto and then added the beans. Then he’d add more beans and more pasta until the combination was just right.

My favorite commercial pasta is Baia Pasta. Owner Renato Sardo also dropped by with his daughter for the big dish.

These are Angelo’s notes. If you’ve made pasta e fagioli before, this should be fairly straightforward. If you haven’t, don’t hesitate to download our Pasta e Fagioli Manifesto, including the Baia Pasta version.

As if the afternoon weren’t perfect enough, Angelo left me with some more of his pasta. Posso toccare il cielo con un dito.

Flageolet Salad with Lemon, Radishes, and Oven-Roasted Tomatoes.

A vegan salad to be enjoyed on its own or served with traditional Easter dishes.

I don’t think of Easter as an inspirtational meal but that’s changing. I grew up with industrial hams in cans and lots of bad chocolate. I was invited to my friends’ Easter celebration and when I heard that there’d be both ham and lamb, a lemony vegan side dish seemed in order.

Raw, they have almost no taste. Roasted in a low oven, they become delicious jewels.

It’s clearly too early for good tomatoes but I’ve been craving them after the long winter, which seemed to end overnight here in Northern California. Cherry tomatoes sliced in half, dusted with salt and pepper, drizzled with olive oil, and then topped with fresh time went into the 250F oven for just about an hour.

You can use them in beans, salads, and even pasta.

They don’t compare to in-season tomatoes but they’re terrific. Use them like sun-dried tomatoes in salads, pasta, and of course, with beans. I left the thyme stems in as long as possible but be sure to pick them out before serving.

One pound of dry beans yields about six cups of cooked. Make them a day ahead so they can cool and you’ll have one more thing done the day you serve them.

It’s not a bad idea to make sure beans ahead of time. Bring them to room temperature before you strain them and be sure to save the liquid for another meal. Take care that the beans are well-salted. Things tend to need a bit more when they’re served room temperature or cold.

Flageolet bean broth. Liquid gold!

Recipe: Flageolet Salad with Lemon, Radishes, and Oven-Roasted Tomatoes
6 cups cooked Rancho Gordo Flageolet beans, cooked (from one pound dried)
1 medium red onion, chopped fine
1 bunch Italian parsley, chopped fine
1 bunch radishes, cleaned and sliced thin with a mandolin or vegetable peeler
12 ounces cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
5 sprigs thyme, leaves stripped from stems
olive oil
1 ½ lemons for juicing
salt
pepper

Heat the oven to 250F. Arrange the tomatoes, cut side up, on an ungreased baking tray. Add the thyme leaves to the tomatoes, along with a little salt. Add the stems and any leftover thyme and then drizzle a light dose of olive oil over the tomatoes. Cook for about an hour until the tomatoes are slightly shriveled but not dry. Allow to cool and then roughly chop them.

Toss the beans with the tomatoes, onion, parsley, and olive oil. Add the juice of one lemon and check for tartness. It should be very lemony. Add more lemon juice as needed.

Salt and pepper to taste. Just before serving, add the radish slices and more parsley, if desired. Optionally, you can garnish with a lemon slice.

Make sure you use lots of lemon juice.

Pepitas are Everything

I’ve always liked roasted pumpkin seeds, but I’ve mostly enjoyed them when they’ve “stayed in their lane,” with dishes like pipian and Sikil Pak. Lately, I’ve been putting them on everything, and they add gravitas to the most boring dish that is remarkable.

Buy the raw, shelled variety and then briefly pan roast them. A salad is an obvious new home but keep experimenting. I had some wild arugula from my CSA box. I added some cassoulet beans and olive oil and then topped the whole thing off with some pepitas. I couldn’t have been happier.

You need to be judicious. Too many and it’s too much of a good thing. Start with a spoonful and keep adding them until you’re happy. They won’t be the star of the dish but the make the original better than it would have been without them.

A Rant: We Are Not Normal

This was in our newsletter a couple of weeks ago and it clearly had an impact on some of our bean buddies. I thought I’d reprint it here. Maybe you recognize yourself. – Steve

It’s easy to like our customers. People who cook and appreciate heirloom beans tend to be more interesting, nicer, and enjoy a better quality of life. I live in a bubble of delicious food and like-minded people so I sometimes lose track of life in the “real world.” I prefer hanging out with my fellow bean freaks.

You may not realize it but as time marches on, we home cooks are becoming rarer and rarer. The fact that we get excited about a new bean, a cooking pot, or even a new wooden spoon, puts us in the minority. Most of us think of cooking as fun and a great way to bring people we care about together. We see a pound of beans and we imagine how we’ll be cooking them, how we’ll be serving them, and maybe the smiling faces that will be eating them. I have a constant vision of leaving the kitchen and walking towards the dining room table with a huge pot of something good between my hands as I ask for help finding a trivet. This is possibly my favorite moment of the day. I try and do it most nights.

A meal kit is fine, I suppose. A frozen dinner is an emergency. Are there good ones? I don’t know that I’ve ever had a decent frozen dinner. A dinner out is fun and sometimes inspirational. But a refrigerator full of cooked beans, roasted vegetables, stocks and broths, pickles and condiments, is like a palette waiting to be put to use to create something new. I have cooked Garbanzos, cold chicken, and squash. A soup is born. Chard, black walnuts, and wild rice? There’s a dish right there. I can even ask my 17-year-old son to make his own lunch just by picking out what looks good. (He can cook just fine without my help but a loaded fridge helps avoid the temptation of cans.)

I lovingly packed a lunch to bring to the office today and of course, I left it on the table at home. This was a real drag but I keep cans of sardines in my desk and today the Rancho Gordo store was sampling Marcella beans so I had a nice bean and fish dish, made even better by a pinch of our Burlap & Barrel Smoked Spanish Pimentón Paprika. A wee dash of olive oil? Heaven, and it beat Taco Bell by a mile. 

I know you have your tricks like this. And you’ve noodled around to find your favorite technique for making beans. You probably love to share your bounty with friends and if you’re like me, they can give you the “eye roll treatment” from too much information about your favorite beans, but almost all of them love being a guest at your table. Sometimes it may seem thankless but you need to know that our kind is getting to be rarer in a time when what we do is more important than ever. What can make more sense than sharing food at a table with people who need a good meal, simple or fancy? We have a job to do and a role to play, and I thank you for being a part of it! We’re all in good company. 

Guest Post: Julia’s Preserved Meyer Lemon Relish

The two Meyer lemon trees in our backyard went crazy this winter. My family has been enjoying the harvest in every way that we can, and handing them out to friends by the bushel. (Okay, I don’t actually know what a bushel is, but thought it sounded cool and homestead-y.)

When we are rich in Meyer lemons, I usually make a batch of preserved lemons using a method that a friend shared with me, which came from her Persian family recipe vault. They are super secretive about the recipe—she’s one of my best friends and I had to pry it out of her—so I won’t get into specifics, but the gist is that you dry lemon slices in the sun with a bunch of salt, then you preserve them in olive oil. They are incredible, but a little labor-intensive. And they require sunshine, which we do not have at the moment in rainy Northern California.

So, I decided to try a different method this time, where you let the lemons sit in salt and their own juices until the rind becomes soft and flavorful. I found many recipes for this method, and they all seemed quite similar. I used the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving as a general guide.

My twist on the basic recipe is that I’ve front-loaded the work of chopping the preserved peel every time you want to use it. Once the preserved lemons were ready, I threw the rinds into the food processor and now I have a chunky relish that I can, and do, spoon on nearly anything: a bowl of beans and greens (of course), soups, salads, sauces, marinades, dips. The options are endless! Last week, my husband and I splurged on fresh Dungeness crab and he stirred a spoonful of the relish into the melted butter that we used for dipping. Wow. Just wow.

Note: A little of this stuff goes a long way. When you’re adding it to a dish, start off with less than you think you’ll want. You can always add more if it’s not enough.

Rancho Gordo Large White Lima beans, baby arugula, and preserved lemon relish.

Preserved Lemon Relish

12 organic lemons, preferably Meyer lemons (about 3 pounds)
1/2 cup sea salt
One quart jar or 2 pint jars
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil (optional)

  1. Sterilize the jar(s) by boiling in hot water for 10 minutes. Keep hot until ready to use. Wash the lid(s) and band(s) with warm, soapy water.
  2. Juice 6 of the lemons. You should end up with about 1 1/2 cups lemon juice.
  3. Wash the remaining 6 lemons well, then pat dry. Cut a thin slice off the stem end of each lemon. Starting with the cut end, cut each lemon into 4 quarters, leaving the bottom end connected by about half-inch of fruit.
  4. Pour 1 tablespoon of the salt into the bottom of the sterilized jar(s). Hold one lemon over the jar, fan open the lemon quarters, and pour about 1 tablespoon of salt into the middle. Rub in the salt a bit so it adheres. Place the lemon in the jar and repeat with the remaining lemons and salt, packing the lemons tightly into the jar(s). I was able to fit 6 lemons into a quart-size canning jar. Cover with any remaining salt.
  5. Fill the jar(s) with the lemon juice. The juice should reach to about 1/2 inch of the top. Add more if it doesn’t. Add the lid and screw the band on tightly.
  6. Store the jar(s) of lemons in a cool, dark place, or in the refrigerator, for about 2 weeks. Shake the jar(s) every day or two to evenly distribute the salt.
  7. After about 2 weeks, the lemon rinds should be soft and ready to use.
  8. To make the relish, remove and discard the pulp and membrane from each lemon. Place the lemon rinds in a food processor and pour in about half of the liquid left in the jar. Pulse until the rinds are roughly chopped. You can add more liquid if you like, or discard it, or save it for another use. You can also chop the rinds by hand if you don’t have a food processor available.
  9. At this point, I divided the lemon relish among smaller (sterilized) jars so I could share some with friends. You could also return it to the original jar and keep it all for yourself (which I probably should have done). If you like, you can top with olive oil to mellow out the flavor.
  10. Store in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.

Julia Newberry is General Manager of Rancho Gordo and is the co-author of The Rancho Gordo Vegetarian Kitchen (Rancho Gordo Press, 2017)