Beans, then and now

Beans are Mesoamerican in origin and together with corn and squash form the 'three sisters' that provided precolumbian societies the nutrient triangle necessary for survival. They are among the most important legumes in the world with their high concentration of protein and fiber.

They were central to my family's diet when I was a child growing up in Laredo, prepared in different ways depending on which meal of the day it was. When they were served at lunchtime, they came with guisados or picadillos, or calabacita con pollo. But we never tired of the ubiquitous beans boiling in a clay pot on our stove; it was always a taste and a texture that was as comforting as a mother's embrace. In fact, it's no surprise that one of my son's first meals when he began to eat 'solid' food was a strained bean soup with a velvety consistency that he loved from the first spoonful.

The marriage of round white corona beans with olive oil, vinegar, herbs, and chopped onion is a radically different taste and texture from the traditionally Mexican one. I've had them like this in Italy, but I was surprised to find them served this way in Mexico, albeit 'Mexicanized' with chile de arbol flakes. The beans are whole, and the herbs are fresh tasting, making a perfect side dish or a delicious salad, but best of all, so simple to put together.

Simply beans

Recipe Type: Appetiser, Salad

Cuisine: Mexican

Author: Gilda Valdez Carbonaro

Prep time: 20 mins

Total time: 20 mins

Serves: 6

If you're using freshly cooked beans, which I recommend, make them at least a day ahead of time.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups dry white corona beans
• 1 small bunch fresh dill, chopped
• 1 small bunch fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 small white onion, chopped finely
• salt to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon chile de arbol flakes
• 1/2 cup olive oil or enough to coat the beans
• 2 tbsp wine vinegar

Instructions:

1. Cook the beans as you would cook dry beans (soak overnight, drain, refill, then cook slowly for about 3 hours, adding the salt the last half hour)


2. When the beans are cooked, drain them, and mix them with the chopped onion, dill, parsley, crumbled chili flakes, and olive oil.


3. Adjust the salt.

3.2.1263

Nothing Beets Olive Oil

The first time I tasted extra-virgin olive oil, I couldn't believe I had lived without it (Well, ahem, sort of.  See video.) for so many years. Now I hoard it like people hoard bottled water in fear of some catastrophic emergency. And, as insane as it may sound given today's travel restrictions, I even bring it back from Italy upon my frequent trips to Florence.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwf9Q9nPgwA

So...it's true. I have said in a previous post that I don't like to mix my cuisines, that is, my Italian and my Mexican, but there are Mexican dishes that can only be improved with olive oil.

Vegetables, in general, are always perfectly enhanced with the flavor of a good quality extra-virgin olive oil drizzled over them.  Beets (betabeles), in particular, are a side dish my mother always served.  She prepared them in a simple way: boiled and salted.  In Laredo, at this time of the year our citrus trees were loaded with oranges, tangerines, limes, and grapefruit.  Here is a recipe that combines the beets—roasted, not boiled—with the citrus of the season, along with the very Mexican flavor of cilantro and the unmistakable mediterranean flavor of good olive oil.

Roasted Beets with Blood Orange Slices

Ingredients:
Approximately  1½ lbs beets
4 blood oranges (or regular oranges)
½ cup walnuts
½ cup chopped cilantro
½ cup water for the bottom of baking pan
½ cup extra virgin olive oil to drizzle
sea salt

Preparation:

Remove the greens and wash the beets thoroughly. Place them on a baking dish in which they all fit snugly.  Pour the water into the pan so that it covers about ¼ inch of the bottom of the pan. Drizzle the vegetables with the oil. Sprinkle with salt to taste and cover with aluminum foil. Cook at 350 degrees for approximately 45 to 60 minutes until you can pierce the beets with a fork all the way through.

While the beets are cooking, remove the peel from the oranges with a sharp paring knife. Cut in slices, starting from the end of the orange. Put aside.

Remove the beets from the oven and peel them. Quarter them and arrange them in a serving dish.  Add the orange slices, cilantro, and walnuts.  Taste again for salt, toss carefully, and drizzle with more oil if needed.

For further reading about olive oil, see this informative post by David Lebovitz.