The Bean Book from the Rancho Gordo Kitchen
The Bean Book from the Rancho Gordo Kitchen
From Steven Sando, the founder of...
From £30.00 GBP
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A mighty, marbled potato of a bean with a matching taste and texture. Ideal in soups and slow-braised stews. The Heirloom Bean Co sources these and a range of other Phaseolus beans from North American bean specialist Rancho Gordo, founded in the early 2000s by Steve Sando to preserve and promote traditional and rare bean varieties of the Americas. |
Snowcap beans are a prized heirloom rarity, delivering a creamy, yielding texture with a nutty sweetness, enclosed in striking marbled skins that hold their shape beautifully in cooking. Superb in brothy soups and rustic stews, they pair naturally with roasted vegetables, herbs, olive oil and gentle heat - and are equally at home in salads, gratins or folded into autumnal grain bowls.
Images & cooking instructions © Rancho Gordo Inc.
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Kitchen Suggestions
Snowcaps are a kind of jumbo cross between a pinto and a cranberry bean, but with a softer, more luxurious bite, so they shine in preparations that let them stay whole and velvety. Try them in a brothy bean bowl, light vegetable broths, herb‑infused stocks, or garlicky stews where the beans are the star rather than a background filler. Or in a Mediterranean‑style skillet dish, sautéed with garlic, tomatoes and herbs, and finished with olive oil.
Cooking these beans - the Rancho Gordo method
Check beans for debris, and rinse thoroughly. In a large pot, sauté aromatic vegetables (onions, garlic, celery, carrot etc.) in olive oil. Add beans and enough water to cover by about 2 inches/5cm. Bring to a full boil for 10 to 15 minutes. Reduce heat to a gentle simmer, using a lid to help regulate the heat, and gently cook until done, 1 to 3 hours. Salt when beans start to soften. A pre-soak of 2 to 6 hours will lessen the cooking time.
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Ingredients
Snowcap Beans
Similar to: Pinto, cranberry, Jacob’s Cattle
Latin name: Phaseolus vulgaris
Country of origin: USA
Sold in resealable 1lb (453g) bags
