Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Speckled Butter Beans

When I saw these heirloom beans at the store, I was flooded with memories of summer days growing up Alabama, and eating these beans fresh from the fields, with sliced tomatoes, and cornbread. Well, it will be a while before tomatoes are in season, but I did have some leftover ham from Easter, and I did make cornbread to enjoy with my butterbeans.

I am a real fan of beans. All kinds of beans. I make them often using a number of cooking methods, depending on how far in advance I planned. This time I used the quick soak method.

Beans & Ham
1 lb. dried speckled butter beans
Leftover ham
Water
Olive Oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt & pepper, to taste
Hot sauce for serving

Carefully sort through dried beans, inspecting for small stones or other foreign debris. Rinse thoroughly. Cover with water to an inch over the beans and bring to a boil. Boil for a couple of minutes, then cover and remove from heat. Let the beans soak for about an hour.

Drain and rinse beans, cover with fresh water, add the ham. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, cooking, partially covered until the beans are tender, about 1 hour, adding more water if necessary.

Saute the onions, celery, carrots, and garlic in olive oil, until tender, seasoning with salt and pepper. Add the saute mixture to the beans, along with some salt and pepper, to taste. Simmer together for about 30 minutes.

Serve the beans with hot sauce.


8 comments:

  1. This sounds and looks delicious! We're a big fan of beans in our kitchen. And I love the quick soak method for dry beans. What's your preferred hot sauce?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Pictured is Sriracha but I can't say it's my favorite. I go through phases. . .

    ReplyDelete
  3. We always have Sriracha in our fridge too, but we're also big fans of Cholula and usually have some Crystal around. Interestingly, Tabasco has kind of fallen by the wayside for us. It's not that it's fallen out of favor, but Cholula is just so in favor with us.

    ReplyDelete
  4. These look wonderful, I love beans also! I will have to look for them in the market. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I've never had butter beans before, but the dish sure looks good! I'll have to get some and try them out.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm looking for brown speckled butter bean seeds, or even a source for dried ones that I can plant. Thanks. sleopold@uky.edu

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous, I hope you can find the beans you are looking for. They are delicious.

    ReplyDelete