Dry Beans, Part 2: What do I MAKE With These?

One can never have too many baskets. Never. Elias Sorey/Getty

In Part 1, we did the simple part and said how to cook them. Today, we’re looking at what to do with them! The simplest way, in my mind, to cover this is to look at various ways you might want, need, or feel inspired to use them for. That means courses. So, we’re going to do a 12-course meal, plus drinks! Yep. Drinks. You can bean it up to your heart’s desire and go as minimal or all out as you like! Rather than make a menu or 5, though, I’m going to define each course and give you options for it more conversationally. In my highly limited experience of eating 12-course meals (twice), my memory is that they were themed and are supposed to have some unifying feature, so ours is bean themed! Please bear in mind that how I categorize each dish I link does not mean that it’s the only way to categorize it. An overwhelming majority of dishes in this post will span multiple courses as options, depending largely on how much of it you serve and at what point in the meal the dish is served.

Let us begin! (I just like the song; it’s not relevant.)

Drinks

I’m doing drinks first because I assume y’all think I’m full of it that we can do bean drinks. I’m leaving coffee and vanilla out, though, because that’d be cheating even if we ignore the fact that neither of those are beans anyway.

It turns out that a lot of the really weird stuff that happens in the drinks arena with beans is boozy, including baked bean cocktail. You can even use aquafaba for your cocktails!

In the non-alcoholic arena, of course we must first state that you can make your own soy milk! Also mung bean milk, black bean and soy, chick pea milk, and presumably milk from whatever beans you were able to get. I didn’t check, so I’ll trust y’all to tell me if you discover something I need to know about!

Beyond the obvious, though, you can make smoothies, dessert drinks, Indonesian sari kacang hijau (made from mung), black bean tea, and a Thai and Loa black bean drink. Black beans really do seem to be favored heavily in the bean drinks world. There’s even a chick pea snickerdoodle smoothie!

If you end up wanting to make the smoothie below, here’s how to make your own bean paste!

I. Hors d’Ouevres!

Hor d’ouevres are small food items that generally can be held in the hand. They typically are served at cocktail parties, the cocktail hour before a wedding, occasionally at funerals, and most upscale events. These are the kinds of things those little filo and puff pastry cups in the freezer section of the grocery store are for. They’re for making your life easier, because puff is only fun if you need to blow off some steam when you make the butter block, and ain’t NOBODY got time for making their own filo!

Anyway! Most bean dishes in this category fall into dips. Lots and lots of dips, much of which is on lots and lots of bread. There are also some really beautiful whole bean options, though occasionally they’ll ask for frozen. You can still use dry, but they will have a less vibrant color and the flavor may change some. There are also these little guys amongst the more unusual options, which really celebrate beans:

II. Amuse Your Bouche!

The amuse-bouche is basically single bite hors d’oeuvres, but in a separate course. I never really got the need for this, personally. Okay, that’s a lie. I get it completely when it happens to me in a restaurant, and this is how I found out how deep a love of halibut cheeks can run. But if I’m cooking? Pass.

If you serve this on little spoons, totes counts. Though to be fair, pretty much anything you serve on little spoons counts. Ditto shot glass. Or a single chip. There is also a whole category of bean-based amuse-bouche called bean bites. Who knew? Definitely not me! What is nice about this course, though, is that you can make anything from any other course, serve it in one-mouthful portions, and call it a day. Like this:

III. Get Your Soup On!

I assume soups need no real introduction. Everyone has eaten soup at some point, I’m sure. However, if you are really going to 12-course this, make the soup light. For realz. No one will get through it all in a day, otherwise. Also, if you do 12-course your beany adventures, please tell me about it!

You really can’t go wrong with a Tuscan white bean and you-pick soup. I don’t know about y’all, but there’s really never a time I’m gonna say no to a nice, soothing bowl of Mexican charro bean soup (and some of its interesting whole bean and blended cousins), though I also generally couldn’t object to this glorious Brazilian caldinho de feijão nor this Indian-style many-beans soup! Kenyan maharagwe splits the difference between a stew and a curry, giving warm comfort and hands-on-eating opportunities. Peruvian sopa de habas is another dish to need on days you’re feeling blue. And what better to remind you of love than a nice bowl of soup to remind you of your Bába or Babushka’s giving hands? Not much I can think of, really, other than Serbian pasulj! Due to my particular fondness of the Irish people, I just can’t leave this one out!

Although we could nerd out on soups and stews all day, the reality here is that you can add whatever bean you’ve got that complements the flavor of just about any soup! This is how I use them, anyway. I think of what kind of soup I want, then grab the beans that match it. Aside from often working as a meat replacement (without it feeling like you’re trying to replace or reduce meat), beans really do help to stretch a meal out over many more portions, such as with this award-winning white chili (I know it won an award, because I was one of the judges who voted for it)!

Here’s the non-ragey Ramsay, for those of you who’ve never seen him when he wasn’t dealing with disaster in the kitchen:

IV. Appetizing Appetizers!

If you’re in certain portions of Europe, you likely call these an entrée. Either way, these are basically tiny meals, snacks to share, or larger versions of hors d’oeuvres and amuse-bouche. In the standard 3-course American dining experience, you do appetizers, then entrée (the main dish), then dessert. In some cases, a soup or salad takes the place of the appetizers. Its purpose, and hence the name, is to whet the appetite in preparation for the main event. I sometimes find that when out in the world, the appetizers on a menu are the most appealing options, so I order them as a meal and ask for them to be brought out with everyone’s meal. No shame in that, and y’all feel free to use these that way, too!

I’ve noticed that many people like to eat some kind of burger-y type thing as their appetizer, and these chipotle and black bean sliders are perfect for that! Other similar options include: Tex-Mex turnovers, pita and black bean “tostadas,” baked falafel sliders, vegan chick pea “crab cakes,” and black bean and mushroom “meatballs.” Cut these sandwiches small and you have yet another appetizer! It’s true that I view ful solely as a breakfast food, but it can do double duty here too! You could also lump in, as I so clearly wish to, these chile and black bean… you guessed it - bites! Ditto these black bean nachos here. Forget not about the all-mighty falafel, too! It’s a meal and an appetizer in one!

Leblebi is awesome for using up whole, cooked chick peas. Roasting these with clove is a popular option, but you can really customize this to whatever you like. It’s basically like bean popcorn, in terms of its snacking potential, but without actually being popped. Although the recipe uses frozen beans, edamame gets to really be the star in this dish!

The reality is that I’m the only non-Texan in my family, so in honor of their cultinary traditions, I present Texas caviar to you! It’s generally scooped up with tortilla chips, but I shan’t pretend I’ve never gone spoon-to-mouth on this front.

Lastly, let’s get back to dips. They’re for almost every course, I think, but in the appetizer realm they’re fairly important. We have some fun ones, ranging from white (whole) bean dip to 7-layer to refried beans dip! This black (whole) bean dip smacks strongly of salsa, which is a perfect addition to the rest of what you’ve got going for apps! Though I’ve never tried a corn and black bean guac before, it’s high on my list for when I’ve got avocados next. Although it seems that the Hummus Blog no longer really updates, there are some amazing and traditional recipes here for y’all. As you can see, he knows his business and isn’t asking people to stick their olive oil in their hummus bi tahini when it belongs on it. Warms my heart to see that attention to tradition and detail, for sure!

I sincerely thought there would never be a day where I got to show this video in a content-appropriate way, but today is my day!!!!!!!!!!

V. Romaine Calm and Carry On!

Reminder: almost any salad you already like can have beans added to it. Not all, but yes most. So if there’s one you already like, consider tossing a can’s worth of beans in there!

Depending on where you are (lookin’ at some of you in Europe right now), this course might be after the main. I never really understood why we did this first in the States, because after a bunch of heavy foods, some salad is really nice. But for our purposes, we’ll stick it first.

This lettuce-free Greek chickpea salad is a surefire winner! Ditto this side dish, which is basically a warm salad. Mexican bean salads are also lovely, as is the standard three-bean salad. These also are excellent meals unto themselves, which is normally how I eat these types of salads. This black bean salad looks like it’d be amazing with a bit of mango added to punch up the acidity with a hair of sweetness! There are tons of Mediterranean-style salad options for you, as well, such as balela! If you’re into creamy salads, don’t worry - there’s plenty for you too! In addition to this old-fashioned bean salad, other three-, four-, and five-bean salads are screaming, FORGET-ME-NOT!

Ross tells me that dry beans are starting to reappear in our shops (he brings tidings of all the aisles I need to know about!), so if you only bought one kind to see you through, consider venturing out to see what other beans are available to you. The nice thing about beans is that they are a stunningly low-cost option for basically any kind of meal you want, and right now that’s especially important for the many people who’ve been economically harmed by the pandemic.

These are forget-me-nots, in case you didn’t know there was a flower for them. I haven’t told Child Tester about these, since there’s no real space in the garden for them right now.

VI. Fishing for Beans!

Fish. Fish, fish, fish. I admit that I sat here for a while saying, “what the heck else can I say about beans?! Wouldn’t they densify (not a real word) the course that’s really intended to be light? How can people eat this much, when no one uses puke buckets during meals anymore!?” I wish my keyboard would do the interobang for me. It’s an exceptional punctuation point. No, for real, though, Vomitoria didn’t really exist, though it’s an excellent trope and I do so love Macrobius for starting that myth (as well as other interesting writings) and especially his influence on Chaucer’s Parliament of Fouels, which I personally have enjoyed writing and presenting about.

It seems that the bulk of fish-and-beans meals really do seem to favor white beans of assorted types. Aesthetically, that makes sense, though it’s not particularly helpful, and particularly when black beans can operate with beautiful visual contrast. I say sub those black beans in where you can! There are, however, an assortment of options that elevate the humble pinto, and I have to say I want to eat them all! In sum, I say cook whatever fish you want and lay it on a bed of whatever beans you have, as though it were rice or whatever grain you prefer in these instances! That’s going to use the lowest mental bandwidth and, honestly, is going to give your mouth some soothing, familiar yums in the process. I am always about the comfort food!

This video has nothing at all to do with fish, but the man is just delightful and hilarious!

VII. The Main Course, Round 1!

Yeah, round one. In a 12-course, you get two main courses. The first is generally going to be white meats, such as poultry. I personally think you can float pork in here, since it’s a white meat and tends to be less dense and filling than red meats. Of course that also means that if by some stretch of the imagination, you’ve got emu, you’ll want to bop that down to the second main course!

Honestly, the number of bean and chicken dishes out there is staggering. Even my research-loving heart at some point said, “enough already!” Although there are many (mostly Tuscan) recipes that involve white beans, as well as several kidney bean recipes to try, the intertoobz do seem most strongly focused on the black bean for chicken. Not entirely sure why that is, since chicken tends to be a neutral platform for whatever you heart desires! You use what beans you have, and all will be well! Fret not, however, since the pinto of course is well represented! Feel free to sub turkey into any of these, since different meat but does do the same job as chicken.

Duck? Do any of y’all have duck to eat right now? If you do, we’ve got you covered! You could probably roll goose into duck, and I’m making some serious assumptions to ditto swan here (I’ve not eaten swan, so those of you who have please tell me if I guessed correctly!). If you do fall outside UK-derived cultural prohibitions against eating swan, here are some old timey recipes you can add beans to!

Onto pork: the other white meat! There are some tasty-looking crockpot recipes for pork and various beans out there. There are also pibil-style porks out there that feature beans - pibil is one of the few styles of fresh (as opposed to cured) pork I’ll eat. In general, though, pork and beans recipes do abound, without being what Americans normally think of as “pork and beans.” Here’s a fun recipe of that type (plus axe throwing!):

VIII. Cleanse Your Palate!

Palate cleansing, also known as intermezzi or entrements (and other regional French words), courses are basically designed to nullify everything that’s happened to your tongue thus far. In my experience, this is always some kind of sorbet, which was my first introduction to guava when I was 8 or 9 (and I still remember it clearly), though often citrus-y foods are served, pickles (think pickled ginger at sushi restaurants), and sometimes even just plain bread. I’ve mostly seen the bread thing at Shabbat dinners where a soft, short-aged cheese was also served, since bread is a requirement to move onto the meatier parts of the meal, but it works no matter what kind of many-courses meal you’re eating.

Y’all can imagine my fear when I got to this course! Honestly, I’d forgotten about it at first, or I might have made a different decision about how to handle bean recipes for y’all. That said, I’m super stoked I didn’t nix this idea once I’d remembered, because there really is some cool stuff you can do in this course with beans!

Bamia is a Mediterranean stew that is frequently served as a palate cleanser. I’m not sure how it functions within this context, but it’s a thing! Biko, a Filipino cleanser, can also be made with beans!

There’s a whole wide world of sweet red bean paste options out there, including sesame balls (my favorite use of red bean paste!), as Ross blessedly reminded me of during a moment of topping off my coffee (not beans!) cup. I’d hoped to sneak chocolate in there, but alas, it’s as much of a bean as vanilla and coffee aren’t! That said, if you pretend chocolate, coffee, or vanilla are beans for this, I am not judging you for taking advantage of a fact most people don’t know!

Outside of red beans, there’s a soymilk and moringa sorbet that looks tasty, a soy sauce sorbet recipe that doesn’t look so tasty (let me know if you try it!), a soymilk with red bean paste pudding I really need to try, aquafaba ice cream, and this amazing-looking white bean soup that would function perfectly as a palate cleanser if you put it in little shot glasses or similar! Either way, y’all get creative here and tell me what you come up with!

IX. Second Main Course (AKA Second Dinner!)

Second dinner (for you other hobbits out there) tends to get the heavier meats: beef, lamb, and non-swan game.

Although there are a lot of mostly burrito, slow-cooker, casserole, stew, or skillet dishes that incorporate red meat, mostly we need to look at side dishes at this point. Realistically, the vast majority of people tend to view meat as the star of a given meal, so it’s hard to get beans in if you’re not talking side dishes.

Well, let me tell you: there are a lot of bean side dishes! Many have been covered in prior courses, so although I make no promises, I’m trying not to duplicate their essences here.

There are Southern style beans, chick pea salads; white bean sautées, ragouts, and simmers (including creamy-style); pots of white beans with bacon; delicious looking braises; Canadian maple beans; white bean salads, of course; Boston baked beans; cider beans; and Moroccan loubia!

Black bean options include rice options and Brazilian-style beans, while kidneys steal the show in rice and a fabulous summer salad! It’s already summer in Houston, so this matters to me. Crock pot treats are perfect for pintos, as are simple salads and the humble but much-loved refried beans!

X. It’s Getting Really Cheesy Around Here!

This is likely to be the shortest offering of bean-related options. Cheese courses generally have cheese, some crackers, and fruit, and mostly commonly now happen in the cheese platter that usually is served with other hors d’oeuvres. That said, I didn’t come up entirely empty-handed on this, though just about anything you’re going to be using beans for during a cheese course is going to be linked in the previous courses or a significant adaptation of what a cheese course is meant to be about. Unless you go vegan cheeses here or incorporate tofu as a cheese. So mostly empty-handed, but not 100%. I’ll take it!

Let’s cheat here and say you’re gonna serve this with one of the many bean salad options as your cheese course:

XI. Don’t Desert the Desserts!

There’s legitimately no dearth of bean dessert recipes out there. If you pick a culture, you’ll find some to suit it in the bean department!

In the arena of cakes and similar, there’s a red bean and walnut option, ice cream sandwiches, blondies, brownies, bundt cake, chocolate cake, lemon cake, and coconut cake! Cookies don’t get left behind, popping up in red velvet cookies and chick pea and chocolate chip dough balls! Most of the options in the palate cleansing course work as well (so I won’t repeat them), but there are also some cool and interesting options, such as che ba mau and Chè Đậu Đen.

When I was still attending University of Houston, there was a guy who always stood in the middle of Scott and OST, always in a suit (usually purple, and year round despite the heat) who sold bean pies. I never did get around to buying one from him, which is embarrassing given the 11-ish years I was there, but now I kind of wish I had. Suppose I’ll have to make it myself:

XII. Mignardise for Midgardians!

We made it to the final course! Mignardise is basically the amuse-bouche of the dessert world, and is served with coffee, tea, various whiskeys, etc. I always envision these as being most relevant in a cigar room with older, dignified men in smoking jackets. My imagination is clearly overactive!

Most mignardise will take the form of cookies/biscuits, so for this course, I would stick with bite-sized aquafaba macaroons, black bean cookies, white bean and almond cookies, white bean chocolate chip cookies, or these Lunar year red bean cookies!

And now, it’s time for me to take my post-meal nap!