Beans

Creamy Cargamanto Beans in Yogurt

The cargamanto bean. If this is as new to you as it was to us last spring, then you are in for a treat. The grandmother of the more widely known cranberry bean and the Italian borlotti, the cargamanto has a thinner skin and is plumper when cooked than her descendants, so this creamy, buttery bean literally melts on the tongue. Remember the first time your fork broke the tender crumb of a lava chocolate cake — the delight of the molten chocolatey-ness oozing on your plate; it’s like that, but from a bean! True, we are unashamedly bean-heads, so maybe I am waxing a bit poetic. Or maybe you need to try this bean.

The cargamanto hails from Colombia. It is the essential ingredient for Antioquenos Frijoles, the centerpiece of a traditional banquet-style platter known as Bandeja Paisa, which appears to resemble the feijoada of Brazil, or the rijstaffel of Dutch Indonesia in its generous abundance. As you can see, the red cargamanto is a gorgeous deep mahogany, mottled beige or pink near the “eye” of the bean. Unfortunately it loses this beautiful coloring once rehydrated and cooked so that it’s hard to distinguish by eye from other cooked red beans except for its exceptional girth.

But back to the recipe at hand. For this we sought guidance from what might seem like an unexpected source for a South American bean — a South Asian chef. In my book, Indian cooks have the best recipes when it comes to seasoning beans, and in this case Shilpa at Aayi’s Recipes came through for us again. I’ve adapted her recipe for spiced red kidney beans by substituting red cargamanto beans, and by cooking the beans a bit longer in the spices before adding the surprise ingredient, yogurt. We loved the tangy smoothness the yogurt adds. The first time we made this, we had the chickpea flour, or besan, that is called for in the original recipe; in later tries, we substituted fine cornmeal as a thickener with equal success.

Thanks again, Shilpa, for a wonderful recipe that really showcases the creaminess of the lovely cargamanto bean!

We’ve found Goya brand Red Cargamanto Beans at the Lotte Plaza chain of Korean markets, particularly the one in Aspen Hill, MD; and just today located the Goya White Cargamanto Beans at H-Mart in Wheaton.

CREAMY CARGAMANTO BEANS IN YOUGURT
Adapted from Shilpa’s Rajma with Yogurt on Aayi’s Recipes

16oz/455g dried cargamanto beans, red or white 1 large onion, diced
3 TBL olive oil
5 whole cloves
2 1″ cinnamon sticks
4 green cardamom pods, lightly chrushed
1/2 to 1 tsp red pepper (cayenne) powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
sea salt, to taste
1 tsp garam masala
1-1/2 cup/360g drained, thickened yogurt
2 tsp besan (chickpea flour), or fine cornmeal
small sprig cilantro (garnish)

Pick over and rinse beans. Soak beans 8-12 hours in enough cold water to coer the beans by 2 inches.

Drain beans and rinse.

In large Dutch oven or stock pot, add beans and 4 qt/L cold water and increase to high heat, cover and bring to boil. Turn heat down to medium, and continue at simmer, skimming impurities as they rise to the surface. Simmer for 1-1/2 hour.

Meanwhile heat oil over medium high. Add diced onions and cook until onions are translucent, about 8 minutes. Add whole cloves, cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods, red pepper powder, and turmeric, and stir to mix. Heat together for 1 minute.

Add salt and onion/spice mixture to beans. Continue cooking for 45 minutes to an hour, or until a test bean mashes easily with a fork. (If using a smaller bean, such as kidney or borlotti, adjust cooking time.)

Add garam masala, and stir through. Mix together yogurt and besan or cornmeal. Stir into beans, cover, and cook through for 10-15 minutes while table is set. Garnish with cilantro sprigs.

A wonderful meal in itself when served with your favorite flat bread — we love this with warm corn tortillas.

Do you love beans, too? How about Cassoulet or Hawaiian-style Portuguese Bean Soup?

Vive le Cassoulet!

Cassoulet (CAH-soo-lay). One of the great winter comfort foods, and certainly not for the calorie-shy — beans long-simmered with pork fatback and rind, as well as sausages, and duck, goose or lamb. A true peasant dish in the best sense, taking the humblest of ingredients and raising them to glorious heights with care and slow cooking.

As with all the best foods, there are as many recipes for cassoulet as there are cooks. At the foundation are the three great traditions around the Provencal districts from which cassoulet is said to have sprung — traditions that dictate what combination of meats will flavor and provide the unctuous bath for the lowly bean. Debates rage and blood pressures rise about whether duck or goose confit is better, and whether the inclusion of lamb is merely tolerable or absolutely sacrilegious. To claim one’s cassoulet “Castlenaudry” or “Toulouse” one would probably seek out ingredients actually from those regions. But it seems to me more in keeping with the spirit of cassoulet to use ingredients closer to home, and to elevate the meal with great love and attention rather than with pricey ingredients.

This particular cassoulet, while scrumptious, was not my best example. For one, the beans were much too small to capture and hold all that lovely fatty broth. I don’t know what I was thinking using navy beans, but it was a serious brain fart. I also did not make a duck confit, and instead just browned the duck legs and added them and their rendered fat into the beans. The most garlicky sausage I could find on short notice was a Louisiana-style andouille, which together with the pork belly were also browned and added to the cooking pot, with their rendered drippings of course. One pound of dry beans, 2 duck legs, 3 sausages, 2.5 lbs of pork, loads of garlic, thyme, parsley, tomatoes, water, seasoning and breadcrumbs — that’s it. Six hours and 2 days later, choruses of “Bon Appetit.”

But even the most ardent fan of cassoulet (have you met my husband?) will concede that this is a dish best savored in deep winter when the biting cold will lend some justification for the extra pounds that will definitely ensue. Why ensue? Because cassoulet is a dish that makes no apologies for the pork fat, duck or goose fat (ha, ha, guess what “confit” is!), and sausage drippings that conspire to create the oh-so rich broth in which the beans will bake and swim. This is something we make only once a year, though it’s been at least 4 years since we last had this at home. Tropical Hawaii was much too warm for such a rich and hefty dish — seriously, this is Portuguese bean soup on steroids.

“Cassoulet forever”

We missed the buzz about cassoulet that circulated around the U.S. in November, on Election Night. Evidently a mischievous French-speaking cameraman declared his love for his Maman’s cassoulet by holding high signs that said “cassoulet” or “cassoulet forever” behind American broadcasters reporting on Mr. Obama’s victory. The signs were clearly visible in many news broadcasts, prompting a flurry of internet searches in the U.S. for the term “cassoulet” (it was reported to be one of the top Google searches on Election Day.) Some people even wondered out loud — including a broadcaster on live TV, “Who is Cassoulet?”
LOL (ou RaHV?)

We happened to make a cassoulet this weekend at T’s request. This is one of his all-time favorite foods — he even likes the canned stuff one can find on any supermarket shelf in cassoulet’s mother country. It was a celebratory meal, too, as we opened a special wine to toast our incoming president and in between sips and mouthfuls rocked with Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, U2, MaryJ Blige, Stevie Wonder, and Garth Brooks (who knew he was a little bit rock ‘n’ roll?!), who were performing down the street at the concert at the Lincoln Memorialthat was the kick-off for the inauguration of our 44th President.

So Mr. Obama, we saved you a plate. And our first toast was also for you:
“Vive le President! Long live the 44th President of these United States!”

A Sponge for Flavor: The Bottlegourd or Upo

This spicy, easy recipe with new flavors came to us last week on a visit to Sagari’s Indian Cooking website. She combines quick-cooking mung beans (no soaking needed) and a ridge gourd with spices to produce a memorable one-dish meal. Served with rotis or other flatbread (we had whole wheat tortillas), this simple dal is great cool weather comfort food and a nice change of pace from soup. I usually use mung beans to make a Filipino soup with pork, greens and fish sauce, so this was a nice alternative to our old stand-by.We didn’t have ridge gourd, but had picked up a nice young bottle gourd, or upo, over the weekend. When choosing a gourd, I look for something heavy for its size as older gourds begin to lose water and become fibrous. So fibrous, in fact, that when fully dried they become a bath sponge, the loofah (derived from its Latin genus Luffa). My mom used to supply me with bath loofahs from her backyard garden on Guam when the occasional one escaped her notice until past its edible prime. Upo and other gourds of its ilk are mildly sweet on their own, but readily absorb flavors from their cooking medium. Usually I use upo in soups like Chicken Tinola or even a regular chicken soup, in place of zucchini or other squash. With the mung beans in this dish, it added a nice textural element to the soupy dal.

Sagari’s recipe is made using a pressure cooker, so I’ve adapted it here to cook in a regular saucepan.MUNG BEAN & UPO STEW
(adapted from Indian Cooking)
4 tbs oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp. musturd seeds
1 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
1 tsp. coriander powder
1/2 cup tomato ( chopped)
2 TBL. cilantro
2 dry red chilies
3/4 cup dried mung beans, rinsed well
1 medium upo (about 1.5 lb total weight), seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes (peeling is optional for smaller gourds)
1.5 tsp. salt
2 cups water

Preheat 3-quart or larger saucepan over medium high heat, then add oil, cumin and mustard seeds and chilies. When seeds begin to pop, immediately add onions and garlic and cook until onions are translucent. Add turmeric, coriander, chili powder, and cook for about 1 minute. Add tomato and cilantro leaves, and whole chilies and cook until tomatoes soften.

Add mung beans, upo, salt and water, and cover. Cook over medium-low heat for 30-40 minutes, or until beans are soft and thicken broth.

Garnish with cilantro, and serve with flatbreads. This will thicken as it sits and cools, and was equally delicious the next day cold, topping thick sliced toast. Thanks to Sagari for a new way to look at mung beans and gourds!

The GDC: Chicken, Green Beans & Cherries in Tomato Sauce

Chicken Meatballs in Tomato-Green Bean Stew

While looking for interesting ways to cope with dad’s diet limitations (our Gout Diet Challenge, GDC) as he works to reduce the visible uric crystal deposits (called tophi) on his hands and knees, the flavors of the Mediterranean still resound most strongly. We took a cruise through the Greek Islands many years ago with my parents, stopping in ports only long enough for T and I to make a mad dash through any groceries and bakeries we could find while my parents and aunt took the ship-sponsored tours or hung out in harbor-side cafes. The cruise only emphasized how fruitless it was for us to take a big-ship cruise through these wondrous islands, since you spend no quality time on any island.

It was long enough, however, to introduce us to new flavors. One that has remained a staple in our house since that cruise is Fassoulakia me Domates, Green Beans with Tomatoes. We found a small cafe at the harbor in Hydra and ordered some food to take back with us to the ship, and once on board, skipped the formal ship dinner to feast on our local finds. To be honest, I don’t remember much about the other foods we ordered, there were stuffed vegetables, fish, lamb, etc., but the lovely stewed beans in tangy tomato sauce was something I had to duplicate when we returned home.

At that time, I had one Greek cookbook, “Greek Cooking for the Gods,” by Eva Zane. It had come highly recommended by a friend who regularly cooked from it for her Greek boyfriend, and it was my stand-by for moussaka, spanakopita, and the Easter bread that I loved. The recipe for Fassoulakia me Domates in this book looked promising, but it did not include currants, which had been in the beans we tried from Hydra. I included currants in our first try, and it was a pretty close match. Since then, I’ve also used raisins, sultanas, even diced apricots, and loved the results; and even omitting dried fruit altogether is delicious.

To adapt this recipe for the GDC, I used dried tart cherries (black tart cherries are recommended for gout management) instead of currants. And I added cooked chicken (chicken is better than turkey for gout-sufferers) meatballs to make it a one-dish meal. Without meat, it is an easy side dish for roasted or grilled meats, or a very filling vegetarian entree served with couscous or to stuff a baked potato. Or as a flatbread pizza topping (that’s for bee and Jai)!
(See the new GDC Round-up for more gout-friendly recipes)

Chicken, Beans and Cherries in Tomato Sauce

CHICKEN WITH GREEN BEANS & CHERRIES IN TOMATO SAUCE
(Inspired by the gorgeous island of Hydra and heavily adapted from “Greek Cooking for the Gods”)

Chicken Meatballs
1 lb. (450g) ground chicken
1/2 medium onion, minced
1 clove garlic
1 large egg
1 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. Aleppo pepper (optional)
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients and shape into golf-ball sized rounds. Saute in pan lined with 1/2-inch oil until browned on all sides, or place on baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and bake in tabletop oven for 20 minutes. Add hot to sauce, or cool completely and freeze to make ahead (add to sauce frozen after beans have simmered for 20 minutes, then cook for another 40 minutes).

**To use fresh chicken, use 1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breast or thigh meat cut into 1-inch cubes. Combine paprika, cumin, peppers and salt (omit oregano) listed in Meatball recipe above, and coat diced chicken in dry mixture. Set aside 30 minutes, then add to Tomato Sauce below after beans have simmered for 20 minutes, then continue cooking for the remaining 40 minutes in the original recipe.

Tomato Sauce
4 TBL. olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup dried cherries (or currants, raisins, sultanas)
1 TBL. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. dried dill (optional)
6 ripe tomatoes, or 1 28oz. (780g) canned tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup dry white wine, or chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 bunch fresh Italian parsley (flat-leaf), about 1 cup chopped
1 bay leaf
1 lb. green beans

In large saute pan set over low heat, sweat onions in olive oil until transparent (take your time, this will take 8-10 minutes at least). Add garlic and dried cherries, and cook until both are just softened. Add oregano, thyme and dill (if using), and mix through onion mixture and leave to cook about 2 minutes, or until herbs become fragrant.

Turn heat up to medium high and immediately add tomatoes, wine/broth, parsley and bay leaf. (If you omit the dried fruit completely, add 1/2 tsp. brown sugar to sauce.) Partially cover, and leave to simmer 20 minutes while you prepare beans.

Wash and tip green beans to remove stringy spine. Leave whole or cut into 2-inch lengths, it’s up to your own aesthetics and who you are cooking for. Add to tomato sauce, cover completely and let simmer over low heat for 30-40 minutes. Add cooked meatballs, cover and simmer another 30 minutes.

Serve with couscous, quinoa or amaranth (the latter two are very beneficial for the management of gout), fresh pita or other flatbread, or Mestizo Rice. In the photo, it is plated with cinnamon couscous.