It’s finally soup weather in Los Angeles—rain is in the forecast and temperatures have dipped into what passes as cold in these parts—40s and 50s, with gusty winds rattling the doors and windows.
When it comes to soup, there’s none is more satisfying than a thick, filling brew that includes beans as either a major or minor player. And, while canned varieties are popular and convenient, the beans I choose if I have the time (and that’s something I have quite a lot of lately) are usually dry and hail from a prized source—Rancho Gordo in Napa.
Founder Steve Sando’s heirloom beans have become a favorite of top chefs and home cooks alike, so, unfortunately, many varieties were in short supply even before the pandemic caused a run on all kinds of pantry staples like rice, beans and lentils. Then Sando did an interview on CBS’s Sunday Morning last November, that caused an even bigger demand for Rancho Gordo products. (You can watch it below.)
Luckily I found an excellent local vendor—Grow, a small but nicely stocked market in Manhattan Beach. But when their supply runs low or I want to experiment with legumes with intriguing names, stories and recipes, I send away to Rancho Gordo for several pounds of beans—and sometimes additional items, such as dried white corn hominy (also called posole or pozole), black caviar lentils, and wild rice, or a beautiful bean pot made in Mexico, where Sando sources many of his beans from small-lot farmers.
As with so many things in this strange time of forced isolation, beans and other legumes have become a bit of a fixation. (It does help that when I come up with a large pot of something with beans in it, my husband doesn’t complain about eating it for several days!)
Among the beans I crave most—and the ones that led me to discover Rancho Gordo in the first place—are Royal Coronas, an oversized white bean that grows even larger when cooked. (I imagine this might be the magic bean that grew into Jack’s beanstalk in the children’s story!) I came across these beans—and Rancho Gordo—when we visited Napa for a film festival in 2013. I wandered into a little specialty shop and spotted these unusual legumes on a shelf and couldn’t leave without them. I made a beautiful soup with them and wrote a post about it with a recipe that you can find here.
That soup was pretty close to the one in the picture above, except that the more recent version included some chicken sausage, tomato paste, and a few additional vegetables.
It would be really easy to make a vegan soup with these beans as the broth that forms from the beans themselves when cooked with a few aromatics—like onion, garlic, and a bay leaf or two and sometimes some chili flakes or a chopped, fresh jalapeño—already tastes like a soup base. Be sure to sample a few mouthfuls while checking to see if the beans are sufficiently cooked—or, better yet, ladle out a bowl of them!
Although the Royal Coronas are again out of stock (clearly their name hasn’t put a dent in their popularity!), Rancho Gordo’s Cassoulet beans make a fine substitute. Originally from Tarbes, France, these are grown in California, but, like so many other Rancho Gordo beans, perpetually in limited supply. (Another white bean, such as cannellini, would work as well.)
The foundation of the famous French dish of the same name, Cassoulet beans are fabulous in soups, stews and as a side dish or dip. A classic cassoulet usually includes, along with beans, duck confit, sausage, pork, tomatoes and breadcrumbs. One recipe from Bon Appetit consists of 34 steps and suggests starting preparations two days in advance! I decided to wait until we can have company again to attempt that one.
Instead, I soaked the Cassoulet beans overnight, then cooked them slowly until soft but not mushy. They yielded a glorious thick broth—a perfect addition to a soup made from broth and meat from a whole chicken; a mirepoix of carrots, onions and celery; plus leeks, fennel, garlic, chicken sausage, some parmesan rinds, tomato paste, a splash of white wine, salt and pepper. Served with some toasted fresh-baked sourdough bread made with toasted sesame seeds and durum flour, what could be a more perfect meal on a rainy night in LA—or anywhere?
Here’s a link to an updated recipe I posted for Chicken, Bean and Kale soup.
For more stories and recipes about soups, check out my earlier posts on Tortilla Soup (Jeff’s favorite); Yellow Split Pea, Pumpkin and Sweet Potato, perfect for the fall (or actually anytime); and an infinitely variable Vegetable Soup that’s a riff on a low-calorie, “zero-point” Weight Watchers classic.
For some additional suggestions on cooking beans from Steve Sando, including in a crockpot or a pressure cooker, check out Tips on Cooking Basic Beans. For some excellent ideas on what to do with them far beyond soup, click through the many recipes posted on the Rancho Gordo website. Another great recipe that includes white beans (canned cannellini in this case, though I’m sure you could use cooked dry) is my friend and fellow blogger Patricia Rose’s Italian Wedding Soup.
Since we’re more concerned with eating healthy these days, there’s a lot to be said for the benefits of eating beans, including their high fiber, protein, vitamin and mineral, and antioxidant content. You can read about that too here.
As for the issue of “tooting”—i.e., intestinal discomfort—when you eat beans, well I haven’t had a problem with these beans—perhaps it’s the freshness or that I soak them before cooking. Or maybe my body just decided to love beans. So no Beano for me!
Thanks for reading this edition of Ruthtalksfood. If you enjoyed it, please hit like to let me know, or leave a comment or suggestion for future topics. To receive these posts in your inbox, including my upcoming one on hamantaschen, please don’t forget to subscribe.
Interesting to note your source for heirloom beans. We became entranced with the large white beans in Spain. I found some in a market and brought them home. Used some of them in my Italian Wedding Soup. They can be delicious when fresh. Used some of my home grown dried fava beans recently in a soup. They are more work, because you have to remove the outer skin after they've been shelled, but they were worth it.
Yummy. I am inspired to be soupy and let you try my creation! Maybe on a cold, rainy day on your patio.