Delicious and nutritious: Heirloom beans in your kitchen
What's the story
Heirloom beans, with their unique flavors and textures, provide the perfect opportunity to elevate traditional dishes.
These beans, lovingly preserved and passed down through generations, offer more than just a taste of agricultural history - they're also a nutritional powerhouse.
This article explores five creative ways to incorporate heirloom bean varietals into your cooking, adding a delicious and healthy twist to familiar recipes.
Soup upgrade
Elevate your soups and stews
Adding heirloom beans to soups and stews can elevate these comfort foods to gourmet status.
For example, substituting traditional kidney beans with Scarlet Runner Beans in chili adds a whole new dimension of flavor and texture.
Heirloom beans soak up spices and seasonings like little flavor sponges, making every bite of soup or stew a taste adventure.
Salad twist
Reinvent salads with beans
Salads become more filling and flavorful when you add heirloom beans.
Consider tossing some Christmas lima beans or Tiger's Eye beans into a quinoa salad for a pop of unexpected color and taste.
These varietals aren't just pretty to look at. They also pack a protein and fiber punch, turning your side salad into a main course.
DIP Innovation
Hearty bean-based dips
Step aside hummus, heirloom bean dips are the new stars.
Blending heirloom beans like Jacob's Cattle or Anasazi beans with olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, and herbs makes for dips that are not only tasty but also healthy.
They're great as appetizers or snacks, providing a fresh take on familiar recipes.
Baking secret
Baking with bean flour
Baking with heirloom bean flours not only adds a nutritional boost but also brings unique and delicious flavors to your treats.
For instance, replacing up to 25% of regular flour with black bean flour in brownie recipes increases protein content significantly, all without changing the flavor or texture you love.
This baking hack creates a healthier version of desserts, making indulgence both tasty and good for you.
Morning makeover
Creative breakfast options
Add a hearty, nutritious twist to your morning routine by including heirloom beans in your breakfast dishes.
A simple and creative idea: use Mayacoba beans instead of potatoes for breakfast hashes or incorporate them into omelets for an added protein punch.
These substitutions elevate classic breakfast choices while enhancing their nutritional value.