Growing
Beans for Winter use – drying
Well, as I only have an allotment and not a farm, I tend to
grow only a few of each variety of vegetables, fruit, flowers and herbs [though
some do take over like mint and tarragon!].
I am always aiming to have enough food, spices, herbs, flowers
for the whole year. Of course, this has never yet happened although, for two
years, just after I took over my allotment, I did manage to eat from my
allotment right through the year – this is a long way from being self
sufficient but, I can still dream!
As I have said before, having food for summer and autumn is
pretty easy – as long as you put a bit of work in, even in poor weather years
like this one. I find, I am always planning for the winter and spring months [I
guess I’m being boring about this now!]
If you are vegan or vegetarian, the Legume family [peas, beans
and lentils] is extremely important for protein and minerals. These vegetables
are an excellent, cheap and healthy source of protein, fibre and minerals
which are also low in fat and contain no cholesterol.
On my plot, in the cool and damp UK and especially on my heavy
clay soil, the varieties I grow are important.
I have in the past, tried growing different French, Broad [or
Fava], Runner beans and chickpeas.
I was given a present of a few chickpeas and was amazed when
they grew on my heavy clay soil [not recommended]. The young green chickpeas
were just amazingly delicious cooked and would probably be worth the effort
again for just that short experience. In spite of their reputation for
producing malic acid on their leaves when damp – which, I believe, can be very
irritating to the skin, I had no problems. The only problem was that my crop
was so small – they are low growing [they look like common vetch] so if the
weather is wet it can be very difficult to save the seed – and mice love them.
However, I have saved a jar of the seed and I will try again.
I‘m not keen on frozen beans and prefer to eat them when at
their best fresh although, I do believe some of the French bean varieties which
are suitable for drying can freeze successfully – try pea beans [I haven’t
tried this yet though might this autumn].
I have tried drying broad beans and runner beans – no problem
with the drying process but, I really didn’t enjoy eating the product. My jar
of dried broad beans is now used a ‘baking beans’!
This brings us to that wonderful, amazing and delicious group
of vegetables – French Beans. For several years I have grown and struggled to
save several varieties which are just wonderful as dried beans. My problem has
been that the best of them are mostly dwarf varieties – Borlotto, Yinyang [Orca
Beans]. They dry wonderfully and are excellent in a range of winter dishes.
However, because they are low growing and ripen for drying in September/
October - the ground and the atmosphere becomes increasingly damp. The pods are
attacked by slugs, mice, ants [yes ants, I swear it], fungi, rot, etc., much of
the crop can be lost.
Over the last couple of years I have now ‘worked up’ a
selection of climbing or pole beans. My friend and neighbour at the allotment
gave me some Jack Edwards seeds [a Heritage variety – they seem to be similar
to several other ‘Pea or Wax’ beans. They are lLike my favourite Orca or YinYang beans
but, in this case they are a climbing variety so, have a much better chance of
being saved for drying – though I am reluctant to give up yet on my Orca Beans. I
believe they are also excellent for freezing as podded mature beans – I’ll give it a
try and get back on this.
I have grown Borlotto [check also Barlotta lingua di
Fuoco] beans, fairly successfully for some years but, as they are also a dwarf variety, it has
been difficult to save a good harvest of them. Now, however, there is a
climbing variety on the market. I have bought some and will try next year. A
variety of black beans which has been around for a few years is - Cherokee Trail
of Tears. They are smallish and black when dried and are excellent to eat.
Try also a purple bean - Blauhilde
Sources of these seeds and others are:
A couple of weeks ago, when I was hosting a seed swap table at
a Harvest Festival, someone brought in a couple of packets of ‘Magic Beans’. To
me they looked like they might be a variety of Lima Bean, though the contributor of the beans could give no information on them. I took a small
handful of these beans and will try them out next year so, more on this next
year.
Of course, once we think of drying these vegetables there can
be problems. The given advice is to allow on them to dry on the vines or, bring
the dried pods home and allow them to dry out completely before removing from
the pods, or use a dehydrator if possible. As I am harvesting in damp
conditions, I am more inclined to harvest when the pods looks as though they
are drying out [not always dry on the wet ground!] bring them home and pod. I
discard any discoloured or damaged pods or beans, being a bit worried about
pests – especially bean weevil. I lay the beans out on tray in a coolish room
with good ventilation. When the beans are well dried – this may take a couple
of weeks - they should be very hard and give a sharp sound when dropped on the
tray or surface, they should be dry. I store them in glass jars with good seals [ like kilner jars] but, I check
regularly over the next few weeks for the presence of weevils – the tiny
insects [5 mm long] will be apparent – there will be small holes in some of the
beans and the weevils will be obvious. All is not lost – discard the damaged
pods and the weevils and keep checking each week. I have had this problem only
once and that in drying Broad Beans though I still keep up my weekly vigil on all
my jars of dried beans. Last year, when I visited Andalucia, I was totally
beguiled by a shop we visited, which had many sacks of an astonishing variety
of dried beans – I wanted them!
It’s important to know that many, or most beans are toxic in
the raw state so, if planning to eat raw in salads you must be aware of this problem.
Some varieties are more toxic than others – do check this out. If eating fresh
beans, it is necessary to cook for at least 10 minutes. For dried beans, they
must first, be reconstituted and then cook which can take quite some time,
depending on how old the dried beans are.
Please don’t be put off by these side issues. Cooking with
beans is miraculous. You can buy an enormous variety of tinned beans and chickpeas
in your local supermarket when none of the toxicity problems arises – they are
wonderful. For me however, the best beans are the dried selection and
especially those I have grown myself. And of course they are really, so much
cheaper. Perhaps, the following recipes will encourage you:
Herby Bean Rissoles
The dried beans can be quite bland and colourless but,
they are very nutritious and lend themselves beautifully to providing a base
for your favourite flavours. These rissoles will freeze well. Put a layer of
greaseproof paper between each rissole. Use within a couple of months.
275g (10oz) dried beans –
kidney, butter, borlotto, yinyang (chickpeas are good too)
50g (2oz) butter
50g (2oz) plain flour
1 large onion – finely
chopped
2 large garlic cloves –
crushed
Salt and freshly ground
black pepper
Small bunch each of lemon
thyme, marjoram and tarragon – finely chopped
1 dsp. finely chopped
parsley
2 Tblsp oil for frying
·
Soak the beans
overnight. Drain off the water.
·
Put the beans in
a saucepan and just cover with water. Bring to the boil then simmer until the
beans are soft.
·
Cool the beans
then mash or put through the food processor.
·
Put the chopped
onion in a saucepan with the butter and sweat (cook without allowing the onion
to brown) until the onion is soft.
·
Add the garlic,
thyme, marjoram and tarragon and mix in.
·
Add the beans,
season to taste then stir in the parsley.
·
When the mixture
is cold divide into even sized rissoles (this mixture should make 6 – 8) Roll
in flour and shape.
·
Fry in a little
hot oil, turning over when the first side has browned. Drain well. (I like
these cooked on a griddle without oil.
·
Serve with
vegetables in cheese sauce or fresh vegetables with a salsa sauce.
[Don't add the salt until the beans are cooked/soft or they won't soften]
Variations
Spicy Bean Rissoles
Replace the herbs with curry
spices – 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp garam masala,
½ tsp turmeric (add a little Harissa paste if you like it hot)
Fry the spices with the
onion then continue as before.
Serve with slices of lemon
and a fresh mixed salad.
Vegetable and Bean Rissoles
Replace the herbs with - 50g
frozen peas, 50g frozen sweetcorn, a small finely chopped or diced carrot.
In the summertime when fresh
vegetables are available from my plot I will use those, otherwise I will use
ones I have frozen in the summer.
Cook the vegetables in a
microwave or a little water until soft. Cool and add with the mashed beans.
Continue as before. Serve with chips, grilled mushrooms and tomatoes.
Don’t freeze if using frozen vegetables.
Bean and
Chilli Hotpot
200gm dried beans or chickpeas
1 400g tin chopped tomatoes – or even better – a tub of
home-frozen tomato pulp
2 – 3 medium onions finely chopped
2-3 red peppers -finely chopped
1 -2 finely chopped red chillies [ I like Joe’s Long – leave
the seeds out if you don’t want it to be too hot]
2 – 3 young courgettes [try Orelia – much dryer and denser
than Zucchini]
Garlic – 3-4 large cloves peeled and well chopped
Spices - ½ tsp allspice,
2 tsp cumin, ¼ tsp ground black
pepper, ¼ tsp ground cinnamon, 2 tsp
ground coriander
Salt – sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
! Tblsp freshly chopped parsley, 1 Tblsp freshly chopped
coriander leaves, 1 Tblsp freshly chopped orinago or marjoram
2 Tblsp good olive oil
¼ Litre red wine
Method
·
Soak the beans or chickpeas overnight. Drain, wash
and cover with water then bring to the boil and simmer gently until the beans
are cooked [the older the beans, the longer it will take them to cook so,
consider your supplier].
·
Heat the oil in a large pan and add the onions,
garlic, peppers, chillies and courgettes.
·
Allow to sweat – cooking without colour for a few
minutes – until the veg is soft.
·
Drain the beans or chickpeas and add to the pan.
·
Add the tomatoes, wine and seasoning. remember not to add salt to the beans when they are cooking.
·
Simmer gently for 30 – 35 minutes – until the
beans are soft.
·
Add the herbs and stir in well.
·
Serve topped with grated cheddar or parmesan and
with warm crusty bread.
Re-constituting
dried beans
There is a lot of advice out there on reconstituting dried
beans to ensure the process is speedy or ‘gas free’, etc. However, I like
things simple:
·
Pick over your chosen quantity of beans for the
dish you are making to remove discoloured, shrivelled, very small beans or
debris which may have made its way into your saved beans.
·
Put the weighed beans into a bowl approx 3 times
the size to allow for expansion.
·
Cover with water and leave overnight or, for at
least four hours. Add a tsp. of Bicarbonate of Soda if you live in a hard water
area – do not add salt.
·
When the beans have re-constituted, rinse them off
a couple of times with clean water then cover with fresh water, bring to the
boil and simmer until the beans are soft-ish. Different beans take different
amounts of time to cook. They should be soft without being soggy. Expect to
start trying them after about an hour. If they are still hard or gritty, give
them another half hour of cooking.
I have,
in the past tried to re-constitute a bought packet of red kidney beans which
never softened enough to use. I think the shop owner ‘saw me coming’ and passed
off old stock on me. Dried beans, whether shop bought or home saved, have a
reliable shelf life of 1 year, although I have grown crops from saved beans
which are at least, 2 years old.
In this
blog I have given only two recipes for dried beans. But, it is now becoming
quite long. I will, in my next blog give a few more recipes which, I hope, will
be found helpful.
