Tag Archives: International

An image depicting a bean and vegetable salad.

Mediterranean Bean Salad: Cool Cuisine for Hot Summer Evenings

Packed with protein-rich beans, crunchy summer vegetables, and cool, fresh mint, this salad is a one-dish supper for evenings when it’s too hot to cook. Just toss the ingredients together in a large bowl and stir in the dressing. If you don’t have capers on hand, substitute chopped green olives or dill pickles.

Salad:

  • 3 15-ounce cans of any beans (use several types if you like), drained and rinsed
  • 2 red bell peppers, chopped
  • 1 small cucumber, diced
  • 1 cup chopped red or sweet onions
  • 1 tablespoon capers
  • 1 cup chopped fresh parsley
  • 10 fresh mint leaves, chopped
  • 10 fresh basil leaves, chopped

For the dressing:

  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt and black pepper
An image for the White Bean Colcannon recipe

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day With White Bean Colcannon

Colcannon – sometimes referred to as Irish mashed potatoes – is a comforting and delicious blend of potatoes, cooked kale, onions, milk, and butter. Adding cooked white beans to traditional colcannon turns it into a fiber- and protein-packed meal.

Ingredients

  • 4 russet potatoes peeled and cut into large chunks
  • 6 tablespoons butter
  • 3 cups chopped kale (or substitute cabbage if you prefer)
  • 1/2  cup minced green onions (green and white parts)
  • 1 cup cooked white beans
  • 1 cup milk
  • Salt to taste

Directions

  1. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the potatoes and cook until tender. Drain and set aside.
  2. Melt the butter in the pot and sauté the kale and onions until the kale is wilted.
    Add the cooked potatoes, beans, and milk, then mash everything together with a potato masher.  Add salt to taste.
  3. Serve hot with additional butter.
An image depicting umami-rich ingredients with beans

Add Fast Flavor to Beans with Umami Rich Ingredients

Sometimes referred to as the fifth taste – in addition to sweet, sour, bitter, and salty – the flavor or essence of umami was discovered in Japan around 100 years ago. The word is derived from the Japanese term for “deliciousness.” Small amounts of umami-rich ingredients can go a long way in enhancing the flavor of the simplest dishes.

Adding these foods to bean dishes is an easy way to create a savory meal with just a handful of ingredients. Try incorporating any of the following into cooked or canned beans for a dish that is packed with flavor:

  • Shredded aged cheese
  • Caramelized onions
  • Sun-dried tomatoes rehydrated or packed in oil
  • A few tablespoons of tomato paste
  • Miso broth
  • Sauteed mushrooms
  • Grilled or roasted sweet peppers
An image depicting folks exercising

Beans Support Aerobic Exercise

If your New Year resolution includes a commitment to more aerobic exercise, take a tip from the Tarahumaras, a group indigenous to the Sierra Madre Occidental Mountains of Mexico. Considered among the most skilled long-distance trail runners in the world, they’ve been the subject of books, magazine articles, and scientific studies. Remarkably, the diet that sustains their extraordinary fitness is built around beans, especially pinto beans. Corn, chili peppers, squash, and greens also play important roles in their menu.

So, before you hit the track or the gym, load up on a healthy bean-based meal like these tostadas.

Tostadas

Ingredients

  • 12 tostada shells (the crisp kind)
  • 2 15-ounce cans refried beans
  • Shredded lettuce
  • Chopped tomatoes
  • 2 avocados peeled, pitted and chopped, or about 1 cup guacamole
  • 1 cup salsa
  • Optional: 8 ounces grated Monterrey Jack or cheddar cheese

Directions

  1. Heat the refried beans in a frying pan over medium heat until hot.
  2. Prepare the tostadas by spreading a large spoonful of beans over each one and then sprinkling on the toppings.
An image for the bean tamale recipe

Bean Tamales for Christmas Eve

Tamales are a Christmas Eve tradition in some parts of Mexico. With a savory dough made from Masa Harina (a type of cornflour) and meat or beans filling, tamales are wrapped in corn husks — sometimes banana leaves — then steamed.

Tamales can be made and cooked ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for several days to reheat for a Christmas Eve supper that is both easy and special.

Use any type of bean you have on hand for this recipe, including canned refried beans to speed up the process.

Ingredients

Wrapping:

  • 16 dried corn husks

Filling:

  •  2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 small yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper or to taste
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 1 15-ounce can (drained) cooked black, kidney, or pinto beans
  • 1/4 cup water

Dough:

  • 2 1/2 cups of cornflour Masa Harina
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 3/4 cup chicken or vegetable broth

Directions

  1. Rinse corn husks, place in a bowl and cover with boiling water.  Let them soak for at least two hours.
  2. Sauté the onion in the two tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat for about 10 minutes or until tender.
    Add the cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper, beans, and 1/4 cup of water. Cook for several minutes until the beans are heated through. If using whole beans, partially bend them with an immersion blender or food processor.
  3. In a large bowl, combine the Masa Harina, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the 3/4 cup vegetable oil.
    Heat the broth and add to the mixture. Stir to combine.
  4. Lay a corn husk on a clean work surface with the edges curling up. Spread about 3 tablespoons of the dough on the corn husk. Top with 2 tablespoons of the beans.
    Fold one side of the husk to the center and then the other. Finally, fold the end toward the center of the tamale.
    Continue with the rest of the tamales.
  5. Place a steamer basket in a large pot over about an inch of water. Add the tamales and bring the water to a boil.
    Reduce heat to medium-high and steam until the tamales are firm, about 50 minutes.
An image for the White Bean Salad recipe

Roasted Greek Beans with Tomatoes

Long periods of religious fasting in Greek culture meant that meat-free meals were often on the menu for more than half the year. In many of those meals, protein-rich beans played a central role. Large white beans paired with tomatoes remains a classic of Greek cuisine. Deceptively simple with its handful of ingredients, this dish is packed with all the best flavors of Mediterranean cooking.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound large white beans, like Great Northerns
  • ¾ cup olive oil
  • 2 onions thinly sliced
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
  • 3 tablespoons tomato paste
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Soak the beans for at least eight hours.
  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  3. Drain and rinse the beans, cover with fresh water and simmer until soft, about 45 minutes.
  4. While the beans are cooking, heat the olive oil over medium heat and saute the onions until soft. Add the garlic and saute for one minute.
  5. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, and parsley and stir to combine.
  6. Drain the beans and add to the tomato mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Pour into a baking dish and bake for about 40 minutes.
  7. Serve with feta cheese, warm bread, and a salad for a classic Greek meal.

Red Bean Popsicles

Sweet, frosty popsicles made from beans may sound unusual, but they are a favorite treat in many Asian countries. They’re also easy to make at home. The popsicles start with a sweet red bean paste called Anko, commonly available in Asian grocery stores. It’s easy to make your own, though.

To make Anko:

  1. Place 1 ½ cups of cooked or canned small red beans (drained and rinsed) and one cup of sugar in a saucepan.
  2. Add just enough water to cover the beans by one inch.
  3. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until most of the water has evaporated.
  4. Spoon the bean mixture into a food processor or blender and blend until just slightly chunky.

To make the popsicles:

  1. Remove half of the blended beans to a bowl.
  2. Add 1 ¼ cup canned coconut milk to the remaining beans in the processor or blender. Blend until smooth.
  3. Add the bean-coconut milk mixture to the remaining beans in the bowl and mix thoroughly by hand.
  4. Pour into popsicle molds or small paper cups and add popsicle sticks. Freeze overnight.

French-style Beans Start with Mirepoix

Mirepoix (pronounced “meer pwah”) is a deceptively simple way to add rich flavor to any type of beans. A combination of sautéed onions, carrots, and celery, it serves as a foundation for a variety of dishes in French cuisine. Traditional mirepoix uses two parts onion to one part each of carrots and celery, but these measurements don’t have to be exact.

Chop the vegetables finely and then sauté in olive oil or butter over very low heat. Cooking the vegetables slowly brings out their sweetness. Once the vegetables are softened, simply add them to any kind of cooked beans along with salt and pepper and any herbs you wish. Mirepoix freezes well, too, so you can always have it on hand.

Beans in the Blue Zones

Eating beans may help you live longer. That’s one message from research on the “Blue Zones,” which are geographic areas where people tend to live the longest. The three areas at the heart of this research are Sardinia, Italy; Okinawa, Japan; and Loma Linda, CA.

People who live in these Blue Zones share a number of lifestyle characteristics. They are less likely to smoke and are more physically active. They enjoy active social lives and close family connections. They also eat beans. Blue Zone researchers recommend eating at least one cup of beans per day, based on 150 dietary surveys of the world’s longest living people. Beans may not absolutely guarantee a long life, but they are an important part of an overall plan to stay healthier.

 

Bean Bulletin Q&A: Mary Lee Chin on Beans in Asian Cuisine

In this month’s Q&A we sat down with Mary Lee Chin, MS, RD, a registered dietitian and nutrition communications consultant with Nutrition Edge Communications. Mary Lee is a national expert and prominent voice in today’s food conversations, and is also the daughter of Chinese American immigrants. Mary Lee has great knowledge and personal interest in Chinese cuisine and culture. She was eager to share her passion for Asian cooking and insights for how beans are used in Asian cuisine.

BB (Bean Bulletin): Mary Lee, you’ve had an impressive career in the world of food and nutrition. Can you tell us a little about what led to your passion for food, flavor, and finding a career in dietetics?

Mary Lee: I am particularly interested in food production and food security, and that’s no surprise because I grew up in a very poor immigrant family. We were very food insecure. When it came time to choose a career, studying food and nutrition was natural. And as I progressed, I became very interested in food security.

My interest in food production and security transitioned from a career in clinical to the communications arena when I became a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Today, most of my work is focused around communicating about important issues in food and agriculture.

I feel very lucky to have found a career in dietetics because it’s a profession of generosity and mentorship. I’ve had so many great mentors and role models throughout my career, and I owe my success to the generosity of other dietitians who helped to shape my profession.

BB: That is wonderful. Consumers today have a great interest, almost hunger, for exotic foods, new flavors, and global cuisine. What do you think is fueling this interest?

Mary Lee: I think because we are a multicultural society we have the opportunity to be exposed to a lot of different foods. More and more people are traveling abroad and they are exposed to great cuisine and want to have it at home. Also, people who stay in this country have a great opportunity to explore cuisines from different areas. It’s much easier to experiment with exotic cuisines today. Even generalist supermarkets are carrying exotic ingredients so people can access exciting flavoring ingredients beyond salt and pepper.  It’s also undeniable that the interest in cooking is fueled by the increasing number of celebrity chefs and television shows dedicated to cooking.

BB: That is so true! Mary Lee, you have personal interest and expertise in Asian cuisine. For those who are unfamiliar, how would you describe Asian cuisine? What are the primary ingredients and flavors? Does it vary country to country in Asia?

Mary Lee: I think one of the major things to remember is that the term “Asian” food is an artificial construct, because there is nothing that really unites the countries of Asia. From language, religion, politics, and food – it’s a huge area with tremendous variation.

If you are exploring Asia from different regions, you’ll find different flavorings and ingredients. In the southwest (countries include India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Burma), they use naan and flat bread and strong flavors like cloves, black pepper, and hot chili peppers. That is the style of Asian cooking where we think of beans being a dominant part of the cuisine.

In Southeast Asia (countries include Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia), they have a lot of very fresh foods and many fresh herbs; more so than you find in other parts of Asia. They also use a lot of stir-frying and steaming for food preparation.

In the northeast (countries include China, Korea, and Japan), they use spices for not only food but also medicinal purposes. They also use noodles a lot in their cooking.

You can see that there’s a lot of variation across the Asian countries, but I would say the two largest commonalities amongst all Asian cuisine is the umami flavor and rice.

In traditional Asian cuisine, MSG is a key component of cuisine. In the 1960s, it went away as a popular ingredient, but the basis of the umami flavor is the glutamate (note: MSG stands for monosodium glutamate). Fermented fish, soy, and bean sauces are all high in glutamate, and that’s what gives the savory taste.

Rice is such a sustainer of life and is so critical to Asia. In my culture, one of the greetings when someone arrives at your home is “Have you had your rice yet?”  Each of the languages across Asia has many different words to say rice (raw rice, cooked rice, fermented rice, etc.). It’s a tremendously important food, and something I still eat a lot in my household.

BB: Beans have a pretty significant history and value in various parts of the world, and you mentioned the significance of rice in Asian culture. Is the same true for beans?

Mary Lee: With regards to Asian cuisine, you really look to India as the dominant area for bean use. They use beans in everything: flours, fillings, sauces, etc. I recently read a book about Indian cooking, and it discussed why you find more beans in that cooking than other cuisines. It’s because a large segment of the population is vegetarian, and of course we know that beans are a good source of protein, as well as fiber and other important nutrients like potassium. It makes sense that they would look to beans to get healthy plant-based protein.

In China, you are more likely to find beans used in sweet desserts than in savory recipes. My husband jokes that you have to be Chinese to like bean desserts. We make a sweet red bean soup with honey and sugar. If you were in the Philippines, this soup would be poured on shaved ice with condensed milk on the top.

BB: For home cooks that are inspired by Asian flavors, what ingredients would you recommend adding to the pantry to be ready to make delicious Asian dishes?

Mary Lee: Obviously soy sauce, but I would guess most Americans already have that in the kitchen. That is the basis. After that I would go into the Asian food aisle at the grocery store or an Asian food market and take a look at the rice wines, sesame oils, the variety of vinegars (rice vinegar, black vinegar). I use Shao Hsing wine in place of sherry wine in recipes. It’s made from fermented glutinous rice and millet. Shao Hsing is a city in eastern China that makes a high quality wine, so it’s called by that name. Other recipes will just call for “rice wine.”

I love experimenting with fermented sauces. They add great complexity to dishes. Asian cooking is all about building flavors – fermented black bean sauce, chili garlic sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame oil – they all build layers of flavor that are unique and combine for extraordinary flavor.

Also, take a stroll through the fresh veggie aisle at an Asian food market to find new ingredients. You’ll find so many greens – mint, cilantro, lemon grass, baby bok choy, Chinese broccoli, different squashes and gourds. Instead of buying canned water chestnuts, try buying them fresh! It’s a totally new taste and flavor sensation. 

Probably the best piece of advice I can offer is to be adventurous. Just wander and be open to trying new things.

BB: That is fantastic advice. Last question and the most important, what is your favorite bean dish?

Mary Lee: My favorite bean dish is mooncakes! They are small round cakes traditional to south China that are made with a thin crust filled with a rich filling that’s usually made with red beans, although black beans are also used.  If you go to China in the month surrounding the moon festival (in the fall) you will find beautiful packages of mooncakes that can sell for hundreds of dollars! You can also find them in Chinese bakeries where you can get a good mooncake for a few dollars. They’ve become a status symbol in China, and businesses owners will give them as gifts to their clients or colleagues.

However, I must confess that these are my absolute favorite, but the same is not true for my family. But we all love beans and eat them a lot in our household – chilis, casseroles and hummus. Our youngest son went to Tulane for college in New Orleans, so Red Beans & Rice has become a staple in our household. We make the red beans, use a little hot sausage, and put it over rice. We also make black beans and rice often, and put fresh red tomato salsa on top made with chopped tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. It’s delicious.

Thank you to Mary Lee for sharing her great wisdom in this month’s Bean Bulletin.

Mary Lee is a consultant to the food and beverage industry. Her clients include Ajinomoto, makers of MSG seasoning ingredients.

 

Beans Around the World

From the red beans and rice of New Orleans to the cassoulets of Southwest France, dry beans are a wonderful staple enjoyed across the globe. Examining the types of beans grown in different parts of the world and tasting the various dishes they create provides a delicious culinary adventure and is a way to understand the traditions and history of a place and the people who live there.

Legumes (which includes beans, peas and lentils) are one of the most ancient human foods. They have been a staple of the diet in many parts of the world since the days of hunter-gatherers, about 12,000 years ago.

We often think of beans as a peasant food, but in times of human history, they have been considered to possess great powers and have been seen as a symbol of high status. Harold McGee in On Food and Cooking says, “As remarkable and as yet unexplained sign of their status in the ancient world is the fact that each of the four major legumes known to Rome lent its name to a prominent Roman family: Fabius comes from fava bean, Lentulus from the lentil, Piso from the pea, and Cicero from the chickpea.”

Today, the United States is the global leader in dry bean production. Each year, U.S. farmers plant from 1.5 to 1.7 million acres of dry edible beans.[1]

Depending on where you live, you will likely find several, if not dozens, of different varieties of dry beans in your local grocery store. There are hundreds of varieties of dry beans and each has its own unique flavor, texture, cooking time and culinary uses. Here are some beans from around the world including their country of origin and characteristics.

Bean Varieties[2]

  • Adzuki: Himalayan native, now grown throughout Asia. Small, nearly round red bean with a thread of white along part of the seam. Slightly sweet and starchy.
  • Anasazi: New World native (present-day junction of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah). It is a white speckled bean with burgundy to rust-brown. Slightly sweet.
  • Appaloosa: New World native. Slightly elongated, curved, one end white and the other end mottled with black and brown. Holds it shape well. Slightly herbaceous and piney in flavor.
  • Black Bean: New World native. Shiny, true black uncooked. Creamy texture when cooked. Flavor has an unusual, faintly sweet note, reminiscent of chocolate.
  • Cannellini/White Kidney Bean: New World (Argentina) native, now much loved and used in Italy. Creamy texture, slightly nutty.
  • Cranberry: New World (Colombia) native. Ivory or tan, beautifully mottled with striations of red, burgundy, even bright pink. A melty, creamy texture, a little nutlike.
  • Great Northern: New World native. A white bean, slightly larger than the navy, meltingly textured.
  • Kidney Bean: New World native. Kidney shaped, shiny dark-red seed coat. Cooks up creamy, with a little sweetness. Mild in flavor.
  • Mung: India/Pakistan native. Small, almost round, green with a small white stripe along part of its seam. Mild and starchy.
  • Navy: New World native. Smaller white bean. Soft but not creamily so. A pleasant neutral flavor.
  • Pinto: New World native. Pink-puff bean mottled with a deeper brown-burgundy. It cooks up plump, creamy, a little sweet, mild.

These bean varieties, and hundreds of others, have been used to create extraordinary dishes that represent a place in the world: locally grown ingredients and traditional flavor that truly give a taste of a place.

Various regions of the world are home to some of the most delicious bean dishes. Travel to Tuscany and try Ribollita, a hearty, broth-based soup similar to minestrone with the addition of stale, day-old bread to thicken the consistency. In Mexico, beans take center stage in Frijoles Refritos (Refried Beans), a classic dish featuring cooked, mashed pinto beans made with pork lard and onion. According to Mexican food authority Diana Kennedy, “mashed and fried beans can appear on a Mexican table three times a day: with breakfast eggs, as the main meat course at midday, and with evening tacos.” Pinto beans are the most commonly eaten bean in northern Mexico, while black beans are more common in southern Mexico.  And in Asian kitchens, you can find Rajmah, red kidney beans cooked with garlic, ginger, tomato sauce, and spices like cumin seed, turmeric, coriander, garam masala, and asafoetida powder.

To begin your exploration of beans around the world, you don’t have to travel far. Simply visit The World Bean Kitchen: Passport to Flavor, a website supported by the Northarvest Bean Growers sharing global bean recipes and culinary insights from chefs at the Culinary Institute of America.  Also, be sure to read our interview with Mary Lee Chin for more insights into Beans in Asian Cuisines, and check out our March Fast Facts article to learn about other delicious global dishes.

Happy Cooking and Bean Appetite!

[1] Production Facts. (n.d.). Retrieved March 06, 2017, from http://www.usdrybeans.com/industry/production-facts/  

[2] Dragonwagon, C. (2011). Bean by Bean – A Cookbook. More than 175 Recipes from Fresh Beans, Dried Beans, Cool Beans, Hot Beans, Savory Beans, Even Sweet Beans! New York: Workman Pub. 

Fast Facts: 7 Inspiring Bean Dishes from Across the Globe

Beans are served across the globe and each region has its own varieties and flavor profiles to make them unique and delicious. Here we feature 7 dishes to give you a taste of how beans are enjoyed around the world.

From Egypt: Ful Mudammas

Ful mudammas is beans cooked with onion and tomato and is a popular morning meal in Egypt. Egyptians prepare ful with dry fava beans, but cranberry beans or pink beans work, too. They eat them whole, lightly mashed, or fully mashed, topped with olive oil, melted butter, a hard-boiled egg or a fried egg. According to an Arab saying, ful is “the rich man’s breakfast, the shopkeeper’s lunch, the poor man’s supper.”

From New Orleans: Red Beans and Rice

Every Monday, you can find a pot of red beans and rice cooking in someone’s kitchen in New Orleans. As the main port of the Gulf of Mexico, New Orleans was a hub for chilies and spices from the Caribbean and Latin America. These seasonings were used to flavor the local beans and provide the unique flavors for this signature New Orleans dish.

From Peru: Tacu-Tacu

Tacu-tacu is a recipe that originated to use up leftover rice and beans. Leftover rice and seasoned beans are fried in a skillet to make a large patty. It is typically served with Peruvian salsa, but can also be served with leftover meats or a fried egg.

From Spain: Fabada

This traditional, and probably best-known, Spanish bean dish extends far beyond the Asturias region where it originated. Asturian cooks use large dry white beans and include sausages, smoked pork, bacon and paprika.

From Great Britain: Beans on Toast

With the advent of home toasters came countless variations of toppings and accompaniments. In England beans on toast has been a staple in the diet for decades. As a quick snack or light and easy dinner, this comforting and cost-effective meal is a go-to for Brits and friends across the globe.

From West Africa: Cachupa

This is a famous dish from the Cape Verde islands of West Africa. The dish includes corn, beans, cassava, sweet potatoes and meat or fish made into a slow cooked stew. It is often referred to as the country’s national dish.

From India: Rajma

Rajma is the definition of Indian comfort food. Also referred to as kidney bean curry, it is a cooked dish of red kidney beans, garlic, ginger, tomato sauce, and spices like cumin seed, turmeric, coriander, garam masala, and asafetida powder. Accompanied with rice, it is a very popular dish across North India.