Name That Bean

They are a long, pinkish/reddish, pretty little thing. They always come out this time of year. They look like this:



I've been told they were Romano Beans, which makes sense since the bean inside is white and pink speckled like the beans on the can look like. Searching for "Fresh Romano" came up flat...literally. Romano beans are flat green beans. Hmmm...

Then when searching for beans in general, I found the Cranberry Bean. Aha! This makes sense. Not only are the pods lovely and pink but the bean inside is white with cranberry coloured specks.

Late summer is the season to find them fresh. If you see them at your local market, buy them! You won't be sorry. The bean is lovely and buttery and goes well in soups or stews. Unlike other fresh beans, this one takes only about 20-minutes to cook. Like any bean, they are high in fiber and are a great source of magnesium, potassium and zinc.

Cranberry Bean and Kale Stew

What you will need:
1 medium size onion, diced
1 large clove garlic, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
about 2 or 3 small potatoes (I used purple ones from my farmers market), chopped
one bunch of kale, washed and rougly chopped
1/2 can whole tomatoes
1/2 cup veggie stock or water
a good-sized bag of fresh Cranberry Beans
1 tsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste
1 strip of kombu*

To prepare beans, take a knife and cut off the top part of the pod. Then run your finger down the side to expose the beans. They should just fall out.

In a medium pot, saute the onion, garlic and carrots for about 4-5 minutes or until fragrant. Then add potatoes and continue to saute for another 2-3 minutes. Pour in tomatoes and stock and bring to a boil. Add cumin. Once boiling, add kale, beans and kombu. Turn heat down to a steady simmer and allow to cook for about 20-minutes. Stir every so often. If you find it is too thick, add more stock or tomato juice.

The beans should be cooked through at 20-minutes but feel free to let it simmer longer. I left it for about 35-minutes.



YUM!



* Kombu is a seaweed that helps to change the chemical makeup of beans, making them less gassy. It can be added to any bean while cooking and removed at the end. Try it!