Shell game: beans

We all eat green beans (what we used to call string beans when they HAD a string running down their seam), and many of us know dried beans. Whether we use them out of a can, or buy them in bulk, and soak them, we use them in soups, in salads, if you're a vegetarian, in main dishes, in chili, and so forth.

At this time of year, "shell beans" become available, and they're a vegetable you should try.

What exactly is a shell bean? Well, did you see the word "dried" up there? Those dried beans: the pintos, the kidneys, the cranberries (or borlottis), the canellinis, all start as fresh beans, in pods. They dry very well, if they are treated properly, and then they can be stored for the months when there is nothing fresh.

But they are wonderful eaten fresh, right out of the pod. Admittedly, you need to spend some time with them, if you want to try them. But they're fun. And you can also do something with them that I encourage you to do: you can freeze them, fresh, and use them in place of dried beans, and save yourself a lot of time during the winter.

You will usually find "shell beans," in their shell (duh). I say "usually," because some farmers will shell them for you ahead of time, and charge a premium for the shelled beans. You can consider this a time saver, but in my view, you're losing freshness. You have no idea when those beans were shelled. While I have absolute faith in my farmer friends, I prefer to work with them "right out of the pod," so to speak.

I say 'right out of the pod' because, truth to be told, trying to shell these beans is tough. The pods are soft, and resilient, and don't very much like to be torn apart. I find that laying the beans out on sheet, and letting them dry for a day or two, makes it much easier for me to get them out of the pod. It also provides an occasion for friends to help you. In my experience, the thing that people most like to help with, in kitchen prep, is podding peas, and shelling beans. Now, I'm not going to suggest you throw a "shucking party," but the truth is, that in early America, this was in fact done, as homes got ready for the winter. You don't have to do that, but....

OK, back to the beans. There are seasons to these as well. Cranberries, called "borlottis" in Italy, have the longest season. Flageolets are in season right now as well. You will get a pretty good yield from them, more than when you shell peas, but do know that you're going to lose some weight that you paid for, in the shucking. The beans that remain, however, are much more filling than are peas, and a much more satisfying mouthful.

When you shuck borlottis, you see the wonder of genetics at work. The expression 'as alike as two peas in a pod," seems wrong. These borlottis have wonderful, "whirly" color patterns, in dark red, black and white. Occasionaly, I'll get a solid red one or a solid black one, or even a white one. The varieties of the patterns are somewhat reminiscient to me of snow flakes, with no two alike. Unfortunately, when these cook, they cook to a dull brown color. I wish the color held, but, oh well.

Flageolets are much smaller, and pure white. I believe that at one point they were called "rice beans," because they resemble fat grains of rice. Now, however, an heirloom variety of beans has been rescued, and it is called a rice bean. If you want to sound cool, just call them "flags," like restaurant chefs do.

How do you cook them? Well, it's really very easy. You need a big pot, about half full of water. Half full, because these beans foam up when they're cooked. It's one of the starches being released. I have never seen a recipe warn about this, but it's a fact. So get your biggest pot and fill it half with water.

When you cook dried beans, you are frequently told not to add salt until the end, because it will toughen the skin. Not an issue here, I find. So get some salt into that water too. When it comes to a boil, add the beans. Lower the heat to medium, and let them cook away. I find that 2o minutes is about right for all of them. Test the same way you would test for a dried bean: pull one out, and either taste it, or crush it with the back of a spoon. Once they're cooked, use them any way you would use prepared dried beans. Except these are better.

Without question, the best dish I ever had with these guys was one at Marco Canora's wonderful restaurant, "Hearth." He had collected about seven varieites of shell beans, and cooked them individually, in order to preserve their unique colors (if you mix the beans, the colors will blend, and you'll get muck. Don't do it). He dressed them simply, and then put slices of rare, seared, sushi grade tuna over the room temperature beans. I remember thinking that it was well worth the high price, because of all the labor involved in the dish.

You don't have to use seven varieites, of course, but that's a wonderful way to use these. After they're cooked, and still warm, put them in a strong flavored dressing. The beans will soak up a lot of it, and use them as a base, for something like tuna, or swordfish, or anything else yummy.

Give them a try. They're available NOW, and they will be for some time. Enjoy