KITLIVING
There are all sorts of
wonderful colours in the
world of beans. From
various green beans
(Broadbean, French
beans) to red 'Kidney' beans, and moreor-less
everything in between. Think of the
Borlotti, sometimes called the Cranberry
bean, which is a lovely mottled bean with
cream and pinky-red (goes a brownish red
when cooked).
Due to being grown and used all over
the world, some of the names we have
for beans are actually the same bean.
Butterbean, Cannellini, Flageolot and
Haricot are types of bean that can be
described as white, or at the very least
'beige'. Extremely versatile, they easily
bulk out stews, can be cooked and
thrown into salads or added to soups. As
they are creamy in texture they work well
when paired with other foods.
Due to being grown and used all over
the world, some of the names we have
for beans are actually the same bean. So,
back to the whiter ones, in alphabetical
order, let's take a look at a few:
Butterbeans
In the UK, we call them butterbeans, but
in the US you are more likely to hear these
same beans referred to as Lima beans. It
seems like a lot of people don't like lima
beans. These beans can be consumed
in both their immature stage (fresh and
green) as well as their mature (dried
and beige). Americans tend to eat them
in the immature stage mostly. You can
cook them yourself, which like all dried
beans can take a long time of soaking
and simmering, or you can get them
canned where the texture is creamier
and the flavour is rich and buttery. Plump
and creamy when fully cooked, they do
in fact have a buttery texture that can
be appealing. Butterbeans have a mild
flavour, so they're best when pumped
up with some fat, particularly when
cooked with some bacon or ham. Their
MAKING CARBS COUNT
creaminess also means they blend well,
making an easy bean dip.
Cannelli
According to famed cook Delia Smith's
website, "There are two main types of
haricot bean: firstly, the long, thin, shinyivory one that the Italians sometimes call
cannellini. These are delicious in salads,
stews, and Tuscan bean and pasta soup;
they are also the kind used in France,
cooked in the Breton way and served
with mutton and lamb. The second
type of haricot is the small round one of
tinned baked bean fame. I think they are
inferior to, and lack the flavour of, their
handsomer cousins. A member of the
same family, tiny green unripe flageolets
have a wonderful flavour. Haricot beans
are cheap, they help to bulk out meat and
they are also very nutritious and filling. The
other advantage is they are very good
at absorbing the flavours of the dish. If
you're serving these, there's no need to
serve either rice or potatoes."
Leek and Butterbean Soup. Click the pic for recipe PDF.
Flageolet
Flageolet are small, immature kidney
beans that are white to pale green.
Creamy beans with tender skin and a fine,
delicate flavour, these are much prized in
France. They are actually small, young
haricot beans that have been harvested
and dried before they are fully ripe. Use
them in tomato-based and meat stews, in
mixed bean salads or tossed in butter to
accompany roast lamb or veal.
Haricot
Repeated slightly from the above info on
Cannellini beans, haricot beans are small,
oval, plump and creamy-white with a mild
flavour and smooth, buttery texture. In the
US, they are known as navy beans and
are the classic ingredient in Boston baked
beans. Haricot beans are widely used in
the cooking of countries such as France,
Spain, Portugal and South America. With
little flavour of their own, they absorb
other aromas and flavours easily, which
makes them popular beans to use in bean
salads, vegetable soups, slow-cooked
dishes such as cassoulet or bean purées.
A small, white, kidney-shaped bean that is
good for using in salads and casseroles.
Stew recipe overleaf
Resources
www.bbc.co.uk/food
www.deliaonline.com