Green Beans and Other Fresh Beans
Fresh green beans are hard to resist! If you have any left over after enjoying this crisp, cool, crunchy summer snack, consider adding them to cold green, pasta, rice, or potato salads. When you have the time and inclination, wash your beans, snap off the ends, and quickly sauté with a small amount of oil, garlic, and vegan bacon bits or shredded nori. Serve with leftover, cold roasted potatoes, macaroni, or corn bread. If you have the grill on, “blister” green beans over hot coals and use, hot as a side dish, or as a cold ingredient for salads, cold soups, or for use with dips to supplement crackers.
If you have a patch of green beans that have gotten too large and stringy, take the beans out of the pods and use them as a fresh, crunchy garnish, or save them to use as seeds in next year’s garden.
If you feel you have more fresh green beans then you are going to eat in a few days, you can freeze them, cutting off the ends, washing and allowing to air dry. Place in freezer bags and containers and save for later use.
Check your local farmers markets for fresh beans. Although they should be cooked, they take far less time to prepare than dried beans, and do not need to be soaked. Fresh lima beans, also known as butter beans, have a different taste and texture than dried limas… and they are a pleasure to consume! If they come still in the pod, simply twist and pop the beans into a bowl. Think about making fresh succotash with corn kernels cut right from the cob and fresh limas. Heat a pan with a small amount of oil, quickly sauté the limas, and then add the fresh corn, stirring until just warm. Season with cracked black pepper and a small amount of garlic (fresh or powdered, your choice). If you sauté more limas then you need, purée them with a small amount of olive oil and lemon juice for a wonderful dish. Both the succotash and the dip are wonderful sandwich or wrap ingredients. If you don’t care to turn on your stove, you can create both succotash and the dip by microwaving the limas until tender.
Fresh black-eyed peas tend to have a creamier texture than dried. Some black-eyed peas may be sold still in the (green) pod. Use a fingernail to open the seam and pop out the pea. Some companies sell shelled, fresh, ready to cook black-eye peas this time of year, so be on the lookout for them. If fresh black-eyed peas are not available, look for a freshly frozen version. Although it is not necessary to soak black-eyed peas, some people like to give them a quick soak (about 20 minutes) in water with a bit of baking soda. Since it is summer, and we don’t want to spend too much time in the kitchen, plan on cooking a large amount of black-eyed peas to store in the refrigerator or freezer until ready to use. Black-eyed peas may be cooked in water or vegetable broth, bringing to a boil, lowering the heat and then cooking until just tender. Slow cookers or instant pots work as well (and don’t create as much heat in the kitchen). Drain, rinse and store your cooked peas. Create a summer salad with black-eyed peas, avocado, cherry tomatoes, fresh cut corn, and chopped cilantro or parsley, with a splash of oil and vinegar dressing. Make succotash with black-eyed peas rather than limas (or combine the two types of beans). Create a South Asian black-eyed pea curry, simmering the beans with chopped tomatoes, onions, ginger, garlic, and coriander, or create a cold salad with the beans, chopped tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and lemon juice.
