Beans and more beans

I think I mentioned that I joined the Rancho Gordo Bean Club last year. Every three months, I get six 1-lb bags of beans and a surprise product (popcorn, a spice or condiment of some kind). Suffice it to say that I’ve built up a backlog.

I usually toss a half or whole bag of one of the white beans into a batch of soup. Black beans go into veggie chili. Today, I went for broke and tried one of the new-to-me varieties, flageolet. It’s a small, pale green bean that originated in France and is usually served with lamb. I broke with that tradition—I just wanted to make a batch of pot beans for lunches, sides, etc, so. I sautéed onion, orange bell pepper, celery, and garlic in evoo. Added two pints (about 10 oz) grape tomatoes. A teaspoon of salt. When the veggies were softened and the tomatoes had released their juice, I tossed in the dry beans (rinsed them first) along with two cups unsalted veggie stock, some smoked Spanish paprika and dried oregano (Burlap & Barrel FTW).

Three hours later, the beans were very tender and supper was on! No photos because honestly—not the prettiest dish in the world. But very good with some shredded asiago and a side of cornbread. Today for lunch, some goat cheese and warm baguette.

I wound up with a total of 8 1-cup servings. I’ll freeze a few. This coming weekend, maybe another batch, this time with one of the red beans.