Christmas Lima Beans and Quinoa
- Course: Side Dish
Summary:
Quinoa, an indigenous Incan super-grain loaded with protein, might seem like a sad cousin to couscous. It can be bitter, but different brands of quinoa are cleaned in different ways, so don't give up on it. If your brand of quinoa is bitter, soak it for 4 to 6 hours, which also will improve the texture and make the grain more digestible.
Christmas lima beans are also known as chestnut lima beans because they have a distinct chestnut flavor. Big and beautifully marked, they are often paired with sauteed mushrooms.
If you like avocado, feel free to add more; the dressing doubles easily, if you need more.
To order the beans online, go to www.ranchogordo.com.
4 to 6 servings
Ingredients:
For the salad- 5 small beets
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup quinoa (see headnote)
- 3 cups cooked, well-drained Christmas lima beans (see related TIPS on soaking and cooking)
- 1/2 small sweet onion, thinly sliced (1/2 to 3/4 cup)
- 1 avocado
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
For the salad: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Scrub the beets and dry them, then place in a medium bowl and drizzle with the oil. Wrap the beets in 2 aluminum foil packages, sorting the beets by similar sizes. Roast for about 45 minutes, until they are tender.
When the beets are cool enough to handle, peel them, then cut them into 1/4-inch-thick wedges and place in a large salad bowl.
Rinse the quinoa under cool running water. Bring a medium saucepan of generously salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the rinsed quinoa, stirring to mix in, then reduce the heat to low and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until the quinoa is fluffy but still slightly crunchy. Drain and rinse quickly under cool running water, then drain well and add to the beets in the bowl, along with the cooked beans, preferably warmed a bit, and the sliced onion.
Cut the avocado in half lengthwise and remove the pit, leaving each half in the skin. Cut each half lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices, slicing through the flesh but not the skin. Then cut the slices crosswise into thirds in the same fashion. Use a spoon to scoop the avocado from the skin and add to the bowl, tossing gently to combine.
For the dressing: Whisk together the lemon juice, vinegar and honey in a small bowl. Whisk in the oil in a thin, steady stream until an emulsified dressing forms. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Pour the dressing over the salad and toss gently to combine. Taste and adjust the seasonings as necessary. Serve at room temperature within 2 hours.
About Soaking and Cooking Heirloom Beans:The new "Heirloom Beans" cookbook by Steve Sando and Vanessa Barrington (Chronicle, 2008) devotes four pages to the basics of soaking and cooking a simple pot of beans, but Sando has boiled the key techniques down to a three-minute video on YouTube.com.
Part of the reason these steps work so well is that he uses his Rancho Gordo heirloom beans, which have great flavor and great variety in texture and color. Excerpts, with cookbook information in parentheses:
- Rinse the beans (one pound).
- Soak for about six hours (in a bowl, covered with water by about 1 inch).
- When ready to cook, heat some oil in a medium pot (over medium heat).
- Chop up some carrot, celery and onion (all in big chunks) and smash some cloves of garlic. Add to the pot.
- When the vegetables are soft, add the beans and cover with water by about 1 inch (soaking liquid also may be added).
- Bring the water to a rapid, full boil.
- Reduce the heat to a mere simmer (medium-low) and allow the beans to cook, covered, for about 1 to 2 hours.
- When the beans are soft, add salt to taste. (In the cookbook, Sando recommends adding a scant 2 teaspoons of salt per pot that starts with 1 pound of dried beans. He cooks the beans a while longer so that they soak up the flavor.)
Recipe Source:
Adapted from "Heirloom Beans," by Steve Sando and Vanessa Barrington (Chronicle, 2008).
E-mail the Food Section with recipe questions.
(Sara Remington from "Heirloom Beans")
