Followed By The Wondrous Cranberry Bean

It's funny what a disaster it has become to have your Internet go out. According to my provider, I'm not even supposed to have any connection at all right now. So apparently, this post does not exist.

It's a quick one, though, just to give Cara the satisfaction of an alternate method of preparing fresh, in-the-pod cranberry beans, which were part of our CSA share this week. I'll say one thing about the CSA this year - it's really challenged me to try some things I don't often incorporate into my diet. There are lots of other good things about it, too, but that's another post for another day.

Braised Lamb (or...) with Lentils, Cranberry Beans and Caramelised Fennel

I waffled quite a bit before settling on using lamb for the recipe. The other options I considered were pork shoulder or duck legs. As for cut - I used boned leg of lamb, because it's all I could find. Lamb shoulder would be better, as it dries out less when cooked with low, slow heat. I think this recipe could be made with any of the three meats and still be delicious.

Six servings

2 T extra virgin olive oil
2 pounds boneless lamb roast for braising (preferrably shoulder)
kosher salt
black or green peppercorns

1 large bulb fennel, tough outer leaves removed and rest slivered (need 8 oz. net)

1 onion, diced
1 T olive oil, duck fat or bacon fat
6 oz. lentils

8 oz. fresh cranberry beans (about 1.5 cups; can substitute other types of beans; would be about 3 cups canned beans or a little over a cup of dried beans. Note that if you use dried beans, you will have to soak them properly ahead of time. You're on your own to figure that out.)
1 T olive oil, duck fat or bacon fat

3/4 cup chicken or vegetable stock or broth

4-5 sprigs of fresh rosemary

Preheat oven to 300 F.

Cover lentils with water in a bowl and set aside.

Heat oven-safe Dutch oven over medium to medium-low heat. Generously sprinkle meat with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. Tuck small sprigs of rosemary into the meat, creating slits if necessary, or using the space from a bone. Add 2 T olive oil to pan and brown meat deeply on all sides. Remove from pan when done browning and set aside, but do not drain fat (if using duck legs, drain 1/2 to 3/4 of the fat. Leave several tablespoons in the pan). Add fennel to pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until it has softened and caramelised, about 10 minutes. Remove fennel from pan and place aside in a bowl. Leave remaining fat in pan and turn off heat until you are ready to assemble the dish for the oven.

While meat is browning, put beans and 1 T oil/fat in a small saucepan, add water to cover, and put over low heat to simmer. Do not boil. Simmer for about 20 minutes, or until beans are tender (I think if you are starting with dried beans this will take much longer; start with this step if necessary). When beans are cooked through (although not completely soft), combine with fennel and salt to taste.

Meanwhile, heat nonstick skillet over low heat. Sweat the diced onion and 1 T minced rosemary in 1 T olive oil/fat until translucent; do not brown. Add lentils and water to cover; stir gently and raise heat slightly to bring to a gentle boil. Let cook for 10-15 minutes, or until lentils have just started to get tender.

Assembling the dish

Pour entire contents (lentil mixture, including water) of skillet into Dutch oven. Add broth. Scatter fennel and beans over top of lentils. Add 1 T minced rosemary and stir in gently. Place meat into center of pan, nestling it into the legumes and liquid. Lay two sprigs of rosemary on top of the meat. Cover, and put into oven until meat is tender. The time will vary greatly. If you get stuck like I did and have to use leg of lamb, cook no longer than about 1 hour to 1 hr. 15 minutes. Duck legs will take about an hour or a little longer for falling-off-the-bone. A lamb or pork shoulder should be cut into perhaps 2" chunks, and may take up to two hours. Or leave whole, and cook longer. Adjust seasoning and remove rosemary sprigs before serving. Serve by ladling some of the legumes and liquid into a wide bowl, placing slices or chunks of meat on top.

Like I said, because I used leg of lamb, the meat ended up being a little dry. But it still tasted delicious, and there was a depth of flavour to the lentils and beans that was deeply satisfying.

This is close to being a blueprint rather than a recipe. It's a great cold-weather dish, and I'm looking forward to trying different variations as real cold weather sets in.

The Wondrous Lima Bean

I found a way to make lima beans taste good, says she in wonderment. I’ve always hated lima beans – those mealy, tasteless things that serve no purpose other than to put lumps in your food. It helps if you start, as I did, with fresh, in-the-pod lima beans from your local CSA. Or is that shell? I guess peas have pods.

So anyway, the first task is to figure out how to extract said lima beans from said encapsulation. It’s not as easy as it sounds. I finally resorted to cutting around the flat edge of each shell thing with a pair of kitchen shears. A pound of beans in the shell yields . . . just about 4 ounces of beans. Yup, a 25% yield.

The next conundrum was how to cook them. I’d been toying with the idea of a puree or a soup. Anything to get rid of the mealiness. A puree would involve various steps, and I just wasn’t in the mood. So I started by steaming them for ten minutes, then turning the flame off and letting them sit while I figured out what to do next. Jim and I both tasted one, and we were surprised by the fairly crisp texture and buttery taste. Never encountered lima beans like these before…. But don’t they call them butterbeans in the South? Light starts shining from the dim lightbulb in the distance.

Time was passing. I threw a knob of butter into the sauté pan, added a pinch of kosher salt, and threw in the beans. Tossed it all together, and tossed again once things were sizzling nicely. I let them brown a bit, and turned the heat down. Covered them. They kept cooking, browning. The meat wasn’t done. I turned the heat all the way down, thinking about the fact that undercooked lima beans can contain a compound of cyanide. Not something I particularly want to serve myself for dinner.

So. I finally decided that the beans were going to be way overcooked, and started to plate them. Perfect timing – the meat was finally ready. But how were the beans? Well. They were absolutely amazing. Each bean was caramelized on the outside, softly crispy skin yielding under gentle pressure to reveal a miniature puree in each bite, butter matching butter. No mealy in sight.

I still have my doubts about lima beans frozen or, or, how else can you buy them? Canned? I’ve never even looked. But the next time I’m given the opportunity to get fresh limas, I won’t hesitate.

Astorians for Hurricane Relief

Astorians for Hurricane Relief.

We're trying to do our small part to ease the pain and suffering so many have been experiencing. People in the community have been amazing at stepping up to the plate. So if you feel like coming to Astoria tomorrow night - or next Sunday, or on November 6, come check out some great entertainment. You'll be helping a lot of other people if you do.

Friday, Oct 7, 8 pm
Music, spoken word, and dance by various artists
Waltz-Astoria
23-14 Ditmars Blvd.
Astoria, NY
$10 minimum donation

Sunday, Oct 16, 6 pm
Music, spoken word and dance by various artists
Freeze Peach
22-00 29th St (Ditmars Blvd & 29th St)
Astoria, NY
No cover, proceeds from 4p-8p will go to charity

Sunday, Nov 6, 8 pm
The Josh Irving Quintet
Mezzo Mezzo
31-29 Ditmars Blvd.
Astoria, NY
$15 minimum donation
Free Buffet & Silent Auction