Last year I bought cranberry bean seeds for no good reason except they were so pretty. Now the first of their offspring are ripening, the pods all swollen and streaky with pink flames, and they’re so gorgeous they might just get elected to public office. And then what? I wasn’t convinced that this bean was all so different than any of the others out there.
So I sussed things out with a Marcella Hazan recipe for embogone, a hearty stonecutter’s pasta that originated in small hilltop towns in Italy. Embogone calls for cranberry beans and four other ingredients that I’ve grown or cured myself — how could I pass it up? Well, the dish turns out to be an unusual and interesting combination of creamy beans, rich and salty pancetta, and sage and rosemary, which contribute pleasing background notes. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t pasta with a cream sauce. But it is something that will keep you going all day long, with the potential to knock out dinner guests. With more tinkering it might become a staple around here.
As to whether cranberries are really that different than your average bean, well, I’m not convinced. But cursory investigation reveals a long history of cultivation by Colombians, Italians, and New Englanders, making it the bean of choice in certain ethnic and regional cuisines. The recipe:
Recipe: Embogone
1 cup dried cranberry beans / olive oil / 1/4 cup pancetta or lardo, minced / 1/2 onion, diced / 1 tsp garlic /1 tsp fresh sage, chopped / 1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped / salt & pepper / Parmesan cheese
Soak beans overnight if you wish then cook until tender, anywhere from 1-2 hours. Heat 1 tbls olive oil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add pancetta and onion and cook, stirring, until softened, about 6 minutes. Add garlic and herbs and stir. After garlic has begun to release its fragrance, add most of the cooked beans and about 1/2 cup of bean cooking liquid, and mash beans with other ingredients. Add additional bean liquid to create a sauce consistency. Simmer on low heat for 10 minutes or so, while you cook pasta, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Toss with pasta as soon as pasta is cooked and drained, sprinkle with cheese, and indulge immediately. Feeds 3-4.
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September 23, 2008 at 7:32 pm
sally
Audrey, I’m impressed with your bean growing. I wonder about the gardening commitment, space required and quantity of harvest for the effort.
September 24, 2008 at 8:16 am
audrey
I crammed six plants into a four-foot row at the pea patch and staked the bushes, which yielded three cups of dry, and I enjoyed shelling the pods. Surely there are ways to improve the yield, like giving the plants some breathing room. But it’s so easy and inexpensive to buy beans from folks nearby like Alvarez, you might think twice.
September 26, 2008 at 5:51 pm
audrey
Okay, there were podded cranberry beans on sale at the farmer’s market today for $6/pound. And this is the peak season. In my mind this would be a ‘pro’ argument for growing them.
July 13, 2009 at 12:15 pm
culinarynomad
Hi, Audrey–
I am desperately seeking fresh podded cranberry beans like the ones you have pictured in this post. The challenge is I need a bean that will retain its pretty pink coloration when cooked, rather than fading to beige as most do.
Have you seen any at your local market this summer? Were the ones you saw in September at Pike Place? I need these for a dinner this weekend and I am willing to pay freight to have them shipped to Florida.
Many thanks!
July 13, 2009 at 2:43 pm
audrey
Hi Denise, I grew the beans in the pic above in our garden last year (they turn a dull shade of beige with cooking), and haven’t seen any yet this summer at farmer’s markets — I wouldn’t expect to them in our climate ’til late August or September. Maybe try further south? Have you checked with Rancho Gordo beans in the San Francisco area? Good luck!