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Cool Beans: The Ultimate Guide to Cooking with the World's Most Versatile Plant-Based Protein, with 125 Recipes [A Cookbook] Hardcover – February 4, 2020
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“This is the bean bible we need.”—Bon Appétit
JAMES BEARD AWARD NOMINEE • ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR: Food Network, NPR, Forbes, Smithsonian Magazine, Wired
After being overlooked for too long in the culinary world, beans are emerging for what they truly are: a delicious, versatile, and environmentally friendly protein. In fact, with a little ingenuity, this nutritious and hearty staple is guaranteed to liven up your kitchen.
Joe Yonan, food editor of the Washington Post,provides a master base recipe for cooking any sort of bean in any sort of appliance—Instant Pot, slow cooker, or stovetop—as well as creative recipes for using beans in daily life, from Harissa-Roasted Carrot and White Bean Dip to Crunchy Spiced Chickpeas to Smoky Black Bean and Plantain Chili. Drawing on the culinary traditions of the Middle East, the Mediterranean, Africa, South America, Asia, and the American South, and with beautiful photography throughout, this book has recipes for everyone. With fresh flavors, vibrant spices, and clever techniques, Yonan shows how beans can make for thrillingdinners, lunches, breakfasts—and even desserts!
- Print length240 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherTen Speed Press
- Publication dateFebruary 4, 2020
- Dimensions8.3 x 1.1 x 10.3 inches
- ISBN-100399581480
- ISBN-13978-0399581489
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.
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From the Publisher
Editorial Reviews
Review
“Joe Yonan’s obsession with the humble bean is a fascinating read. Creativity, passion, and knowledge are visible in every dish. From black chickpea hummus to red bean ice cream, each recipe is both surprising and completely achievable.”—Yotam Ottolenghi, author of Jerusalem and Ottolenghi Simple
“Where I come from in northern Spain, beans play a starring role in many of our dishes, so I am happy to see that Joe has cast beans as the lead in this book, showing us that they are capable of doing so much! Joe has always been a big thinker when it comes to eating better—both for our bodies and for our planet—and this book is a blueprint for reducing our meat consumption in a thoughtful and delicious way.”—José Andrés, chef and humanitarian
“Joe Yonan’s delectable Cool Beans is a collection of more than 100 very enticing recipes, all properly attributed to the source of inspiration. Aside from the recipes, there’s a great deal to learn in Cool Beans. This book should earn a place of honor in anyone’s kitchen. I know that it will in mine.”—Deborah Madison, author of Vegetable Literacy
“Joe Yonan has created the most fascinating and unexpected adventure into the world of beans. The best part is that you want to try every recipe, because he makes them easy, accessible, and irresistible. His knowledge, kindness, and sense of humor is such delightful company on every page. As you cook your way from soups to desserts, he also manages to open a window into fabulous cuisines around the world. He connects us all through an ingredient he loves. So excited and grateful for this book!”—Pati Jinich, star of Pati’s Mexican Table
“From the very first recipe in Cool Beans, you know you are in good hands. Joe Yonan’s collection of bean-based indulgences is hip without being pretentious, easy without being simple, and just plain inspiring, no matter how you eat. This book is a beautiful celebration of beans. It belongs in every kitchen.”—Steve Sando, founder of Rancho Gordo
About the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
“We’re just here for the beans.”
That’s what we told the waiter at Maximo Bistrot in Mexico City, where my husband, Carl, and I were honeymooning.
We had considered a handful of destinations, but CDMX was at the top of our list for several reasons: we had scored cheap nonstop flights from Washington, DC; Carl had never been and I was eager to show him just what he had been missing; and what he had been missing, more than anything else, was the food.
For me, the appeal goes even deeper: Mexico City is not just the capital of our vibrant, fascinating neighbor to the south. It’s the seat of a culinary culture ruled by three kings: corn, chiles, and beans. And as a longtime vegetarian who reveres beans as the most important plant-based protein in the world and as someone who grew up in West Texas, immersed in Mexican-American culture, I consider Mexico the bean-all and end-all. Every Mexican chef I’ve ever met has waxed poetic about them: scoops of frijoles borrachos (drunken beans) nestled in fresh corn tortillas; complex stews made from slowly cooked black beans, fresh and dried chiles and the pungent herb epazote; and smoke-kissed purees slathered on fried masa boats, topped with lime-dressed greens. It’s one of the many reasons I’ve always felt at home there.
This time, I knew that on and among our visits to the floating gardens of Xochimilco, Frida Kahlo’s and Diego Rivera’s homes and museums, street food tours, art galleries, and markets, I would be on a mission to taste as many bean dishes as I could find. And in my research, one chef emerged as the bean whisperer: Maximo owner Eduardo “Lalo” Garcia. I had heard that he was passionate, with a fascinating background, and that he served a spectacular bean soup at his tasting-menu restaurant.
We got to Maximo an hour before our reservation, just so we could talk to Garcia about beans, which, no surprise, are one of his favorite subjects. In addition to his history lessons about them, Mexican cooking, and the impact of NAFTA on his country’s culture, he described his “very, very old-fashioned” soup, made with beans he gets from the state of Hidalgo. They’re called cacahuate, because they resemble peanuts when raw, but . . . he was fresh out.
Out? I’m sorry, what? We had come all that way to see the master of beans in the world capital of beans only to be told . . . no dice, no beans. A young Los Angeles chef had visited just a day or two earlier, Garcia explained, and he had sent her home with the rest of his stash. I had a hunch: “Was it Jessica Koslow from Sqirl?” He nodded, laughed that I would, of course, know all the other American bean obsessives, and then, when he saw my face fall and recognized the depth of my disappointment, he turned serious. He started scrolling through his phone, I assumed checking emails, texts, or calendar reminders. Good news: He was scheduled for another bean delivery that weekend. He hadn’t planned it, but he’d make the soup for us—that is, as long as we would still be in town and could return.
We would, we could, and we did. A few days later, as we sat down for lunch—the only customers in the place getting just the bean soup rather than the multi-course tasting menu—the anticipation started nagging at me. How good could these beans actually be?
The waiter brought us two big bowls of soup: the beans were super-creamy and golden in color, fatter than pintos, with a broth that was so layered and deep and, well, beany, that it made me swoon. It seemed so simple—just beans and broth and pico de gallo—that I could hardly believe how much flavor I was tasting. My husband, still recovering from a bout of Montezuma’s Revenge, seemed to come back to life before my very eyes. We tore into a basket of blue corn tostadas, and I slugged a Minerva beer in between spoonfuls of the soup. We left happy and restored.
Such is the power of the humble bowl of beans.
As a category of food, beans are old, ancient even. Forward- thinking cooks have been talking about ancient grains for years now—my friend Maria Speck helped popularize the idea in her book Ancient Grains for Modern Meals—but some beans are just as old as grains. According to Ken Albala’s masterful 2007 book Beans: A History, among the first plants domesticated, some 10,000 years ago, were einkorn wheat, emmer, barley—and lentils.
Lentils are so old that people who say lentils are shaped like lenses have got it backward; the world’s first lenses got their name because they were shaped like lentils. That’s old. In fact, there’s evidence that thousands of years before they were domesticated, in 11,000 BC, people in Greece were cooking wild lentils.
Pythagoras talked about fava beans, Hippocrates about lupinis, and one particularly famous orator is even more deeply connected to chickpeas: His family took its name (Cicero) from the legume’s genus (Cicer). Ancient Indian rituals and early Sanskrit literature feature mung beans. In the New World, the remains of beans were found in a Peruvian Andean cave dated to 6000 BC. Mentions of black beans show up in the writings of ancient Mayans. A little younger is the soybean, but it has made up for lost ground by becoming, as Albala writes, “the most widely grown bean on the planet, the darling of the food industries and genetically one of the most extensively modified of all plants.”
So why do beans have, well, something of a fusty reputation, especially here in the West?
I think a couple of things are going on: first, there’s the unavoidable association with hippies, the memories of three-bean chilis stirred by pot-smoking countercultural types. But perhaps more importantly, beans worldwide have almost always been associated with poverty. (An exception is India, where the prominence of vegetarian eating ensures that beans have been appreciated by the highest castes.) America, as a relatively young country built on grand ambitions and looking for inspiration, perhaps has historically paid more attention to the cooking of the world’s elite and less to the cooking of the more resourceful lower classes.
That’s been changing, thankfully. As immigrants continue to shape American cuisine and we pay more attention to our own native traditions, we’ve started to realize just how deep the roots of bean cookery go.
Product details
- Publisher : Ten Speed Press; Illustrated edition (February 4, 2020)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 240 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0399581480
- ISBN-13 : 978-0399581489
- Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
- Dimensions : 8.3 x 1.1 x 10.3 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #12,583 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #16 in Vegetable Cooking (Books)
- #17 in Natural Food Cooking
- #49 in Vegan Cooking (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
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Inside Look at Cool Beans Cookbook: Watch Before Buying!
Bailey Walsh
About the author
I was born in Albany, Georgia, but before I was a year old, my family moved to San Angelo, Texas, where my father was stationed at Goodfellow Air Force Base. When my parents divorced, my bargain-hunting mother had me take advantage of the fact that I still had the base privileges that she had lost; she handed me cash and a list every week and took me to the commissary to shop for the whole family. If I came under budget and got everything on the list, I could splurge on something for myself. (I was 8 and loved every minute of it. When a bag boy followed me out to the car that first time, before he saw my waiting mother, he quipped, "Don't tell me you drive, too.")
My Indiana-born mom also nurtured my cooking bug -- indulging me when I demanded to use her stand mixer to whip the cream and mash the potatoes, and letting my good-old-boy-Texan stepfather teach me to make my first real dish: chicken-fried steak.
Fast-forward a few decades, and I love to make my own corn tortillas and pizza dough, cook dinner for friends and my husband every chance I get, and help watch over a goofy lab/hound mix, Roscoe, and a mischievous cat, Nelson.
I'm also Food and Dining editor for The Washington Post, where I write the regular Weeknight Vegetarian column. Back when I was single, I wrote a column that inspired my first book, "Serve Yourself: Nightly Adventures in Cooking for One" (Ten Speed Press, 2011). While transitioning to a plant-based diet, I followed it up with "Eat Your Vegetables: Bold Recipes for the Single Cook" (Ten Speed Press, 2013), written while I spent a year on my sister and brother-in-law's Maine homestead, where they grow all their own food. I also edited "America The Great Cookbook," a beautiful compendium of photo-portraits and recipes from chefs and other food heroes from around the country, and a benefit for the wonderful charity No Kid Hungry. In it, we show the awesome diversity of the American food scene.
I've won awards for writing and editing from the James Beard Foundation, Association of Food Journalists, International Association of Culinary Professionals and the Society of American Travel Writers, and my work has been featured multiple times in the "Best Food Writing" anthology.
My latest book is "Mastering the Art of Plant-Based Cooking," which makes the case that vegan cooking is a cuisine deserving of interest by anyone who wants to eat more plants, no matter their dietary identity. My previous book was "Cool Beans: The Ultimate Guide to Cooking with the World’s Most Versatile Plant-Based Protein, with 125 Recipes," an ode to my favorite ingredient, one I think could be important in helping feed a growing planet. What other source of such nutrition is as affordable, shelf-stable and versatile? I hope you love them both.
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the recipes delicious and easy to follow. The book provides useful information about cooking beans and ingredients, including sources. They appreciate the lovely photos and clear directions. Readers find the author's style genuine and genuine in his enthusiasm. Many describe the writing as well-written and creative. However, opinions differ on whether the book is enjoyable or not.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers enjoy the recipes in the book. They find the meals delicious and easy to follow, with clear explanations. The recipes feature various bean flavors and new seasonings. The book includes sections on salads, dips, snacks, and freezing tips.
"...me in the mood to cook multitudes of beans, having his chapters on salads and dips and snacks, plus his tips on freezing and storing, are preventing..." Read more
"Every recipe I have tried has been delightful! I hope Joe Yonan continues to write vegan (or easily veganizable) cookbooks." Read more
"...The recipes are plentiful; sources are given in the back. The design is easy to use. All of this is great...." Read more
"...The photos of the food are stunning, and recipes are explained so perfectly (meticulously!),..." Read more
Customers find the book provides useful information about cooking beans and ingredients. They appreciate the quotes from chefs and food scientists, as well as inspiring recipes. Many consider it a welcome addition to their library, providing new ideas and enhancements to some dishes they have been cooking for a long time.
"...(He uses a pressure cooker, I believe.) He covers all the different ideas and techniques for cooking consistently perfect beans—soft and creamy..." Read more
"...Quite up-to-date as well, with innovative suggestions such as using dried seaweed. The recipes are plentiful; sources are given in the back...." Read more
"Creative, well written recipes- each one is a keeper and many make me think of beans in a new way." Read more
"This is a book that’ll give you ideas of different ways to use beans. It’s not a difficult task...." Read more
Customers appreciate the book's pictures. They find the photos lovely and clear. The book includes 50 pictures of prepared beans, plus some other pictures of dried beans.
"...There are 50 pictures of prepared beans, plus some other pictures of dried beans and beans cooking. There are about 125 recipes...." Read more
"...The photos of the food are stunning, and recipes are explained so perfectly (meticulously!),..." Read more
"This beautiful book is full of excellent recipes! Lovely photos, clear directions, delicious results." Read more
"I’m giving this cookbook to everyone i know! It’s gorgeous and recipes are delicious!!" Read more
Customers find the recipes easy to follow and straightforward. They mention that the book includes alternatives for meats like chicken, fish, or sausage. The instructions and tips provide useful information about preparation techniques like whether to soak or not.
"...And he includes alternatives in his instructions and tips, too...." Read more
"...the recipes, the book even lays open really nicely, so I can read/prepare easily. I love this book -- and you will, too; it's beautiful!..." Read more
"...It’s not a difficult task. But sometimes a spark is needed and it will help...." Read more
"Joe Yonan's recipes are easy to follow and accurate...." Read more
Customers enjoy the author's style. They find the book engaging and appreciate the author's genuine enthusiasm. The recipes are excellent and the book is described as eye-opening on the subject of beans.
"...I also love the author’s Instagram. This has been a great book to help me use up my quarterly boxes from the Rancho gordo bean club!" Read more
"...The author is extremely floral and liberal in this matter...." Read more
"This beautiful book is full of excellent recipes! Lovely photos, clear directions, delicious results." Read more
"...If you love beans you will love this book. The author is genuine in his own enthusiasm and writes beautifully. The recipes are outstanding...." Read more
Customers appreciate the book's writing style. They find it well-written by an author who is genuine in his enthusiasm. The recipes are creative and a keeper. Readers look forward to trying some of the recipes.
"This is in most respects a fab book. It's well-written by an obvious enthusiast, and has excellent information about many kinds of beans...." Read more
"Creative, well written recipes- each one is a keeper and many make me think of beans in a new way." Read more
"...This book is definitely well written and has worth while recipes...." Read more
"...The author is genuine in his own enthusiasm and writes beautifully. The recipes are outstanding. I intend to cook my way through the book...." Read more
Customers have different views on the book. Some find the recipes and results enjoyable, making it a go-to cookbook. Others find the writing style difficult to engage with and find the content less useful than expected.
"...I have used the recipes and testify the end result is good but not great...." Read more
"...The orange-scented Cuban black beans were slightly more edible but not enjoyable...." Read more
"...Lovely photos, clear directions, delicious results." Read more
"...While the recipes were very well written I had a hard time engaging with the book and wasn't that excited about most recipes...." Read more
Reviews with images
Too many recipes w/ no pictures.
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2020"Cool Beans!" Surely it's an expression to shout from your roof top once you start working with this book.
Rather than write a review the day after the book was published, it took me somewhat longer to work with some of the recipes here and formulate my thoughts. I’ve still not covered all the recipes that I’ve got marked, but I’ve made up my mind that this is a very worthy book. And, hey, don’t forget to browse through the “Look Inside” feature on this product page. Ten Speed Press always does a great job of giving you, ahead of time, a good indication of the quality of the cook book you are considering buying. And, by perusing the contents and index pages, you can see the titles of all the chapters and most, if not all, the recipe names, plus see all pertinent ingredients.
At the top of your list, “Good Reasons to Buy this Book”: It’s by Joe Yonan, a personable and true journalist who’s been with the Washington Post for a long time and who is dedicated to communication, teaching and learning. Personally, as I have most of his other cook books, and as I try to keep up with his Washington Post articles, I knew this book would be full of great material. And it is. If you don't believe me, and that's not enough to make you want to buy this book on beans, keep reading.
IT’S ALL ABOUT BEANS! “COOL BEANS”! Those two words are an exclamation that will always remind me of my daughter, cause’ that was a favorite saying of hers during her younger days. So I felt a connection with this book before I even opened its pages. And, it’s JUST about beans and veggies, because Yonan has eliminated meat from his diet. So, meat eaters be aware: If you can’t picture your beans without a ham hock or whatever, you will need to add meat and meat flavorings to the ingredient lists yourself. And that’s a simple thing to do. (I’m saying these recipes can easily be adapted to accommodate those families and cooks that are leaning away from meat, but who have not eliminated it from their diets.)
I was happy to see the great variety of beans represented in these recipes. (Although I personally found a few too many chickpea recipes.) So if you are anything like me--with a few burlap sacks from Dove Creek (Adobe Milling) sitting picturesquely in a corner, nestled next to a wicker basket filled with the latest Bean Club order from Rancho Gordo, and another basket of lady cream peas, baby green limas and gorgeously-colored kidney beans from Camellia—this is a book suited perfectly for you. Hey, it’s a book for all bean lovers, and all those with favorites, as Yonan includes dried, fresh, and canned beans, peas and lentils in his ingredient lists. And he includes alternatives in his instructions and tips, too.
Okay, so for the past few weeks I’ve been cooking beans almost every day it seems. And the house is always fragrant with what’s on the stove. Yonan does provide instructions for cooking them on the stove like I do. But, more importantly, because I’m not in the majority anymore, and Yonan gives instructions for pressure cooking and multi-cooker and Instant Pot cooking. (He uses a pressure cooker, I believe.) He covers all the different ideas and techniques for cooking consistently perfect beans—soft and creamy inside and with skins intact and not tough. He mentions Rancho Gordo and ATK and individual authors and cooks when discussing techniques; brining, and using kombu, too.
And because this book has put me in the mood to cook multitudes of beans, having his chapters on salads and dips and snacks, plus his tips on freezing and storing, are preventing those cooked beans from building up in the frig. The dips in this book are so, so good—I’ll always be prepared for surprise visitors and healthy snacking with a few of these made up.
It still being wintertime, I’m delving more into the soup, stew, one dish and casserole recipes than into the chapter of salads. (Although there is a Christmas Lima, Kale and Tomato Salad that Ranch Gordo fans will be very happy with, and a Lady Cream Pea, Sweet Potato and Charred Okra Salad for the Camellia clientele.)
In my last Rancho Gordo Bean Club box, I got a package of a “prized”, hard-to-find, black beans called Santenera Negro Delgado. There is a very fine Smoky Black Bean and Plantain Chili. And if you need an introduction to using plantains (other than fried), this is the recipe to try. It will be a revelation! There’s another Cuban-Style black bean Stew-soup recipe with orange flavor, and that’s a great idea that I’ve not even seen in any of my Cuban cook books. But what I think is the BEST black bean recipe in this book? It’s the Salsa Madre, which they are calling “Black Bean Mother Sauce Puree”. And that is what I used my Santenera Negro Delgado beans to make. I will forever be grateful for the great timing of my Bean Club order and the publication of this book. It was an ideal opportunity to honor both the bean and the recipe.
I am a huge fan of Lady Cream Peas, fresh or dried. This one recipe alone--for Roasted Tomato and Pepper Soup--is worth the price of this book. I’ve salivated over many of the pictures in this book, but the idea of including Lady Cream Peas in a roasted tomato and pepper soup makes me crave it just thinking about it.
Oh, and speaking of pictures: For those of you who believe it matters, there is NOT A PICTURE for each recipe. There are 50 pictures of prepared beans, plus some other pictures of dried beans and beans cooking. There are about 125 recipes. Sure, I’d like to see more pictures, (especially for something hard to see in my mind's eye, like the skewers of mushrooms and gigante beans), but I think a lot of bean dishes would start looking a bit too similar after a while. And I bet someone, soon, will post a picture of that satay somewhere…… Plus, if I had to choose between a picture and a recipe--I'd choose another recipe every time!
Some unusual and worthy recipes: A White Bean Brandade; Texas-Style Bowl O’ Red—beans, no meat; and a spectacular Show-Stopping Whole Roasted Cauliflower (on a bed of contrasting-color hummus), and Rigatoni E Ceci (with chickpeas).
Some simple, worthy recipes: Marinated Lima Beans; a vegan Southern Baked Beans; Spicy Ethiopian Red Lentil Dip; Chickpea Aioli, and a Salty Margarita Sour, (and plenty of info on aquafaba).
Some others worth noting, that I’d like to try before Spring arrives: Ratatouille Cassoulet and Root Vegetable, White Bean and Mushroom Cassoulet. There’s even a Chickpea and Quinoa Chorizo for those who strictly avoid meat.
I am very grateful to have this book now. There are not many good bean cook books out there, you know? And oftentimes—while I can make some pretty mouthwatering bean dishes with my usual basics (Working with great beans, how can you not make a great bean-based or one-bowl dinner?)—it still gets to be same old, same old. This book helps me out of that rut.
- Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2025Every recipe I have tried has been delightful! I hope Joe Yonan continues to write vegan (or easily veganizable) cookbooks.
- Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2020This is in most respects a fab book. It's well-written by an obvious enthusiast, and has excellent information about many kinds of beans. Quite up-to-date as well, with innovative suggestions such as using dried seaweed. The recipes are plentiful; sources are given in the back. The design is easy to use. All of this is great. The drawback is that it's a vegetarian book. If you want to learn about classics such as New England pork & beans, West Texas chili con carne, or Asturian Fabada, sorry. You will have to look elsewhere.
- Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2024Creative, well written recipes- each one is a keeper and many make me think of beans in a new way.
- Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2020Cool beans! Yesss! (This is the best title, btw ;D -- for the BEST book, ever!) I'm soooo excited! How can I get so excited about a book? Seriously, we don't even know what recipe to choose next; it is so packed with amazing and healthy creations (and a seemingly endless variety)! The photos of the food are stunning, and recipes are explained so perfectly (meticulously!), that even a 'non-cook' type like myself can understand and prepare the dishes.
The author hit a home run (again!). I initially ordered 2 copies (one for me, and one for a gift), because I loved Yonan's previous books. I just logged in to Amazon to order additional copies! I'm giving the gift of this book to everyone (it feels like ;D). (I'm invited for dinner at a friend's house... my 'hostess gift' -- you guessed it, 'Cool Beans'! 'My friend's birthday gift... yep -- 'Cool Beans'... You get the idea. :D)
COOL BEANS PARTY: I am hosting a 'Cool Beans' potluck gathering, as it's taking too long to get through the recipes, with just my family. How fun for each guest to come with a recipe(s) to share from this book!
BTW, I'm not sure how the publisher did this, as the book is bound beautifully and solid, but when preparing the recipes, the book even lays open really nicely, so I can read/prepare easily.
I love this book -- and you will, too; it's beautiful! Happy reading & cooking!
- Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2024Have tried a few recipes from this book and loved them. I also love the author’s Instagram. This has been a great book to help me use up my quarterly boxes from the Rancho gordo bean club!
- Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2020To be honest I’ve only tried 2 recipes so far. One was delicious-the lentil sloppy joes, but I’m very disappointed in the second one. I followed the Ratatouille Cassoulet recipe but had my doubts about cooking a dried bean in a salted acidic tomato base. Now, 3 hours in, I still have a very hard bean. Being vegetation and eating and cooking beans daily, I should have known better; however, I like to follow a recipe the first time through. I had to cover my bread crumbs as they were close to burning. We will see if this dish ever becomes edible. Bummer! It smells so good!
Update, I cooked these pre-soaked beans in the oven for 5 hours! They did soften up, but never as soft as I would have liked. They did become edible, so that’s good. However, next time I make this recipe, I will definitely precook these beans in water. Otherwise a tasty recipe.
Top reviews from other countries
- JillianReviewed in Canada on March 3, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful book
As a former bean hater, this has been a great cookbook to change my mind. Wide range of recipes that use every type of bean you can think of.
- LLReviewed in Germany on July 31, 2022
3.0 out of 5 stars Great recipes, not so clear methods and measures
Given English language recipe books are sold internationally publishers really should insist that they include metric units for measures. This book is only in American cooking units which is frustrating. Also, some of the recipes lack clarity forcing you to guess what the writer means.
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juso94Reviewed in Spain on September 7, 2020
3.0 out of 5 stars Muchas ideas pero es un poco duro de leer por la falta de imágenes
Se nota que es un gran libro, pero esperaba más de un libro de cocina. Es bastante teórico.
- LolamonReviewed in the United Kingdom on April 20, 2020
5.0 out of 5 stars Legumes lovers delight.
If you're vegan, looking for inspiration, and love all kinds of legumes, this is for you. Worth every penny. Going to try growing my own beans this year, just so I can try some of the recipes. If you are based in Europe or UK, there are quite a few exotic ingredients,(coconut aminos, peppers in adobe, dried ancho chillies, etc.), but many of these can be found in the bigger supermarkets now, health food shops, or on Amazon. There is a vital page in the first chapter that shows the categories of beans, and their substitutions. If you live in the US, it will be a lot easier to get many of the ingredients, I think. Still a brilliant book, from a brilliant writer, who generously credits many other chefs when he uses their recipes for inspiration.
- JanReviewed in Australia on March 10, 2021
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant
Happy with the recipes so far
Well written and full of good information