Beans and Friends

Tuesday 14 August

"Beans and Friends" was one of the index entries in the old Moosewood Cookbook. Barbara made the beans, Holt grilled the friends.

Last Saturday, several of the farmers at Findlay Market had fresh cranberry beans, otherwise known as borlotti, in lovely speckled pink pods. I bought a pound or so, and prepared them in the casual way suggested here.

I shelled them, put them in a pot with water (to cover plus about a half inch), a couple of peeled garlic cloves, three black peppercorns, and a handful of fresh sage leaves. They simmered until tender, about an hour and a quarter for these fresh beans. I threw out the wilted sage, crushed up the garlic, added more salt and some olive oil, and let them cool in the fridge. Just before serving, I sprinkled more fresh chopped sage, salt, and pepper over them. Alongside, we put some Italian-style canned tuna in olive oil, again jazzed up with more oil and salt. The verdict: them boys is tasty.

Friends invited for the roast included sliced onions, red peppers, Portobello mushrooms, and tender little halved kousa squash (from Nancy at Shady Grove). All took a bath in olive (we hope) oil, were dusted with thyme and kosher salt, and had a nice lay-down on the grill. Once they moved to the platter, they were so pretty they had to have their picture taken.