IN THE KITCHEN: Do not scorn the lowly bean!

By PAT TANNER Special Writer
    Have you noticed how the recent economic downturn has generated numerous stories on how to cut corners on your food budget?
    Frankly, I resent that food is the first place Americans are expected to economize on. Before that, I’d cut back on clothes, cars, cable TV and electronic gadgets. Cheap foodstuffs that are inferior in taste and nutritional value should be a measure of last resort.
    There is, however, one food source that has always provided cheap, high-quality protein: dried beans. They are also devoid of cholesterol, are high in fiber, iron and vitamins A and B, and have as much calcium as milk.
    I happen to love beans, but realize that not everyone does, which is why I would like offer for your consideration dried heirloom beans — true treasures native to the Americas. Regular dried beans are to heirloom beans as imported hothouse tomatoes are to farmers’- market heirloom tomatoes. This fact became crystal clear to me when I ordered the “desert island” assortment from the Web site of Rancho Gordo of Napa, Calif.
    In the Rancho Gordo cookbook, just out, proprietor Steve Sando explains what sets “rare and beautiful” heirloom beans like his apart from the kidneys, great northerns and limas that are just pennies a pound on supermarket shelves. Heirlooms, he writes, are likely to be fresher, which means they have retained more flavor and will cook up faster. But, he adds, “If they tasted ordinary, none of this would much matter.”
    So when I received my sampler pack of a pound each of Midnight Black, Vaquero, Runner Cannellini, Yellow Eye, and Christmas Lima beans, I put his words to the test. I began with the gorgeous brown- and-white mottled Christmas limas because the package advised to “forget everything you know about bland, starchy lima beans” and promised “a savory flavor with hints of chestnuts.” I used the simple recipe below and was rewarded with not only a pronounced chestnut flavor, but chestnut texture as well, captured inside tender beans that had stayed whole and with skins intact.
    All but one of Rancho Gordo’s 17 varieties of beans sell for $4.95 a pound, which adds up to $1.24 per main-course serving of high quality, delicious protein as in, for example, the Senate bean soup recipe below. I plan to make the soup on Election Day, since our next president will come out of the U.S. Senate. With the economy still in mind, I offer the recipe for cannellini spread as a versatile, economical appetizer for upcoming holiday parties.
    Dried heirloom beans can be found at a few markets in the area. Whole Foods in West Windsor, for example, stocks the Gourmet Valley line at $6.49 for 12 ounces.
CHRISTMAS LIMA BEANS,
RANCHO GORDO STYLE
adapted from www.ranchogor do.com
½ pound dried Christmas lima beans
    1 tablespoon olive oil
    ½ medium white or red onion, finely chopped
    1 stalk celery, finely chopped
    1 medium carrot, peeled and finely chopped
    2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
    Salt to taste
    Olive oil for drizzling
    6 ounces dry goat cheese (for grating)
Check beans for small debris and rinse in cool, fresh water. Cover beans with 2 inches of water and soak for 4 to 6 hours. In a large pot, sauté the onion, celery, carrot, and garlic in olive oil until soft. Add beans and enough water to cover beans by at least 1 inch. Bring to a hard boil for 5 minutes; reduce to a gentle simmer. Simmer until beans are tender – adding more water if necessary – anywhere from 1 to 3 hours (see note). Add salt to taste once beans are tender. Ladle hot beans into individual bowls. Drizzle with olive oil and top with a few gratings of goat cheese.
    Serves 6 to 8 as a side dish.
    Note: Beans took 2½ hours when I made them at home. – P.T.
CANNELLINI BEAN CONFET TI SPREAD
WITH ROASTED GARLIC
“Heirloom Beans” by Steve Sando & Vanessa Barrington
(Chronicle Books 2008)
Attributed to Heidi Swanson of www.101cookbooks.com, who writes, “I use this on mild flavored crackers or crostini, as a spread on grilled panini and sandwiches, even as an occasional ravioli filling.”
2 cups drained, cooked runner cannellini beans (regular cannelloni, marrow, cellini, or flageolet beans may be substituted)
    ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
    5 cloves from head of roasted garlic
    5 ounces fresh goat cheese
    1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
    ¼ cup snipped fresh chives
    1/3 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and finely chopped
    Salt and freshly ground pepper
In a large mortar with a pestle, or in a large bowl with a potato masher, mash together the beans, ¼ cup olive oil, and roasted garlic until a thick, chunky paste forms. Work in the goat cheese until it is incorporated. Stir in the Parmesan, chives, and olives. Stir in a bit more olive oil, a little at a time, until the spread is thick but still moist. Season generously with salt and pepper.
    Makes about 3 cups.
SENATE BEAN SOUP
“Heirloom Beans” by Steve Sando & Vanessa Barrington
(Chronicle Books 2008)
“This simple soup has been served to legislators at the U.S. Senate Restaurant since the early 1900s. The authentic version uses navy beans, but an heirloom just makes it better. Ask your butcher to cut the ham hock for you.” – Vanessa Barrington
½ pound yellow eye beans, soaked (as in recipe above) and drained (marrow beans or classic navy beans can be substituted)
    One 1½ pound ham hock, cut crosswise into 3 or 4 pieces
    6 cups water
    1 bay leaf
    ½ medium yellow onion, chopped
    4 celery stalks with leaves, chopped
    2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
    ¼ cup chopped fresh flat- leaf parsley, plus more for garnishing
    Salt and freshly ground pepper
In a soup pot combine the beans, ham hock, water, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer gently until the beans are beginning to soften, about 1 hour. Add the onion, celery, garlic, ¼ cup of the parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. Continue to simmer until the beans are soft and beginning to break down and the ham meat comes off the bone easily when shredded with a fork, about 1 hour. Remove the ham hock pieces. When they are cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones. Dice the meat and return it to the pot. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Ladle the soup into warmed bowls and garnish with parsley.
    Serves 4.
Pat Tanner, the restaurant critic for New Jersey Life magazine, writes a biweekly food column for Packet Publications. A former caterer and corporate trainer, Ms. Tanner is a founding member of the Central New Jersey Chapter of Slow Food and is a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, the James Beard Foundation and the Association of Food Journalists.