Boiled Beans

Beans Yfryed

“‘You want eat?’ Mord asked, glowering. He had a plate of boiled beans in one thick, stub-fingered hand. Tyrion Lannister was starved, but he refused to let this brute see him cringe. ‘A leg of lamb would be pleasant,’ he said, from the heap of soiled straw in the corner of his cell. ‘Perhaps a dish of peas and onions, some fresh baked bread with butter, and a flagon of mulled wine to wash it down. Or beer, if that’s easier. I try not to be overly particular.'” -A Game of Thrones

Modern Boiled Beans

Thoughts:

Yes, I know. It’s been MONTHS since my last recipes, and now I show up with… beans? I’ve felt my own absence from the blogs keenly, and was delighted to get back into the kitchen this week. With a working oven, and a fully charged camera, I feel suddenly like I can make ALL of the things; As I type this, I have two new recipes in the oven. In the meantime…

The medieval beans are appropriately bland, and a good fit for the scene from the book. The onion flavor is there, and hugely amped up because the beans absorbed the oniony goodness during the boiling process. The garlic, while wonderful, isn’t quite enough to combat the almost overpowering onion. I soaked my beans overnight, but wait as I might, they never “bersten”, so I boiled them. The boiling wasn’t in the historical recipe, but because that’s what they’re supposed to be in the book, I felt this was a good compromise. I sprinkled a little salt over top; the poudre douce was interesting, but didn’t do the dish any favors. I had hoped to make a kind of bean mash out of the ingredients, then sort of fry them like patties, but the mixture was too wet to hold together. Still, with some binder ingredients, that might be a neat way to try it in the future.

The modern beans are universally much easier to like. Boiling them in soda makes them sweet, since they soak up all the flavor and sugars of the rootbeer. That sweetness contrasts really nicely with the smoky, saltiness of the bacon. The parsley is just there for show, but adds little pops of green color to the bowl. It’s an earthy, dense side dish, ideal alongside a big piece of meat. I’d probably like a little more sauce with this version- not quite like Boston baked beans, but it’s a tad dry as is. Next time, I’d add some crushed tomatoes, a little molasses, and stir until I was happy with it.

Overall, I found the medieval recipe more authentic to the scene in the book, but the modern version definitely tastier.

Medieval Boiled (and Fried!) Beans

Benes yfryed. Take benes and seeþ hem almost til þey bersten. Take and wryng out þe water clene. Do þerto oynouns ysode and ymynced, and garlec þerwith; frye hem in oile oþer in grece, & do þereto powdour douce, & serue it forth. –The Form of Curye, 14th century Cook’s note: I used a type of locally grown dry bean for this, but can’t for the life of me remember what variety it was. I’d wager that pretty much any kind of dry bean would work for this recipe. I love using roasted garlic, but regular garlic is fine. INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups dry beans
1/2 onion, peeled and minced
3 cloves roasted garlic (see below)
olive oil
Powder douce or salt

Soak the beans overnight, or at least 8 hours, until they look like they are starting to burst. Boil the beans and the minced onion in a medium saucepot. Add garlic, then fry them in oil or grease. Sprinkle with a little poudre douce, and serve! To roast Garlic: Preheat oven to 400F. Slice the tops off an entire head of garlic, and drizzle with olive oil. Wrap in tin foil and roast for around 35 minutes, or until the garlic starts to feel soft. Remove and allow to cool. You should be able to squeeze the cloves out of their papery shell, or fish them out with a fork. Nibble on a few, savor them over toast, and store the rest in the fridge, covered with olive oil. You’re welcome. :)

Modern Boiled Beans

3 cups root beer (approximately 20 oz.)
1 1/2 cups dry white beans
3 cups water, plus more as needed
3+ strips bacon, fried and crumbled/chopped
2 Tbs. chopped parsley

Soak beans overnight in water or 8 hours, until they look softer and are starting to burst open. Rinse them and put in a pot along with the rootbeer and water. Rinse well and put in a stock pot together with rootbeer and water. Boil for 1 hour, then turn down to a simmer for another 30 minutes. If at any point during this process, it seems like there’s not enough liquid, add more water. After the time is up, the beans are soft, and the level of water is mostly depleted, turn down the temperature further and add the bacon and parsley. Stir to combine, then remove from heat and serve hot.

Venison Stew – Outlander

“Also a large boiling kettle, whose Acquisition we have Celebrated with a great quantity of tasty Stew, made with Venison, wild Onions from the wood, dried beans, and likewise some Tomatoe-fruits, dried from the Summer. None of us Died or suffered Ill-effects from Eating of the stew, so Claire is likely right, Tomatoes are not Poison.” -Drums of Autumn, by Diana Gabaldon

Venison Stew

Thoughts:

This post is from a guest swap I originally did with Outlander Kitchen. She cooked up a little Westerosi chowder, and I got to play with food from a terrific book series.

The finished stew is absolutely delicious. It’s thick, savory, and just unusual enough to be intriguing. The venison becomes mouthwateringly tender, while the dried tomatoes soften and soak up the broth. The roux magically enhances the stew, giving it a wonderfully rich consistency.

Rustic and hearty, it’s completely believable as a stew that Jamie, Claire, family, and tenants would enjoy on Fraser’s Ridge. A few herbs and vegetables from Claire’s garden, along with some dried beans and tomatoes, a bit of home brewed beer, and fresh venison that Jamie shot. I imagine that the broth would be made from the bones of the deer, since nothing is wasted

Like most stews, it’s better the second day, after the flavors have had time to meld together.

Venison Stew Recipe

Suggested pairings: spruce beer, bread and sweet butter, black currant jam, round of goat cheese, elderflower wine

1 1/2-2 lbs venison cut into 1 inch cubes
4 cloves garlic fine chopped
2 spring onions medium diced
2 carrots medium diced
1 cups dry kidney beans
1 cup sun dried tomatoes, cut into medium-small chunks
1 bottle of your favorite ale, red or brown (we used Celebrator Dopplebock)
3 cups venison or beef stock
1 large pinch rosemary or other savory herb, fine chopped
salt and pepper to taste
Splash of maple syrup
1 batch of roux ( 2 Tbs. each of butter and flour mixed together )

Combine the tomatoes and beans in a medium bowl and cover with 3 cups water. Allow to soak for at least an hour, and save the broth!

In a stock pot, heat 2 Tbs. bacon fat. Add meat, brown on both sides, remove from pot, and set aside. Add onions, garlic, and carrots to the stock pot with a splash of the tomato broth. Cook 5 minutes, covered. Deglaze pot with ale and let simmer for about 10 minutes.

Add the browned venison, stock, beans, rosemary, tomatoes, splash of maple syrup, and the tomato broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer one hour OR until meat is tender. Bring back to a boil. In a separate pan, mix the butter and flour for your roux, and let it cook for about a minute, until golden. While whisking the roux, add a few ladles of the stew broth, which will thicken when it combines with the roux. Pour the thickened sauce back into the main pot. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and enjoy!

Olla Podrida – Don Quixote, 1655

Olla Podrida

Don Quixote – by Miguel de Cervantes – 1615

“‘That big dish that is smoking farther off,’ said Sancho, ‘seems to me to be an olla podrida, and out of the diversity of things in such ollas, I can’t fail to light upon something tasty and good for me.'”

Thoughts:

Olla Podrida is a kind of Spanish stew, the base of which is usually pork and beans, but can include any variety of additional ingredients. Although the exact meaning of the name is a matter of some dispute, a fairly safe translation might be “Hodgepodge”. Such a popular dish was it in the 17th and 18th centuries that it was not only mentioned in Samuel Pepys’ diary, but also in Robert Burns’ “Ode Tae a Haggis”. Quirky!

My recipe is from a Spanish reader of the blog, but I have taken the liberty of adding leek, and tweaking the seasoning to my own tastes. The resulting the broth is relatively light, but complex and hearty, although that seems like an impossible contradiction. The spiciness of the chorizo gives it a bite that is neither instant nor cumulative. In this way you can enjoy the full flavors of the broth, followed by a long pleasant heat.

The egg, called a tortilla in Spain, is the perfect accompaniment to the stew; not quite like an omelette as we know it, nor yet quite like a fritatta, the texture is hearty, yet somehow still fluffy and reasonably light. The small amount of chorizo mixed in with the other ingredients calls to the spicy sausage in the stew, and the pairing of the tortilla along with the blood sausage makes it a meal, rather than just soup.

Olla Podrida Recipe

Prep: 1 hour Cook Time: ~2 hours

Serves 6

Cook’s Note: The stew is served alongside the blood sausage and the egg tortilla. Be careful with the salt–the chorizos and the morcilla will salt the stew fair enough but better to taste it and correct.

Ingredients:

1 lb. red beans, soaked in water overnight
1 little pig’s trotter
1/5 lb. Salt Pork, rinsed
3 chorizos
4 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
1 leek, white part sliced thinly
salt to taste
1 blood sausage, preferably Burgos Morcilla
cumin and thyme to taste (optional)

For the egg tortilla:

3 eggs
a few springs parsley
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt and paprika to taste

Soak the beans in water overnight.

Add the soaked beans, water, and all remaining ingredients except the blood sausage and filling to a stock pot, and cover with a couple fingers’ width water. Cook over low heat for an hour and a half.

Take out the trotter and the chorizo; discard the trotter and grind one of the chorizos finely. Chopp the other two chorizo into rough chunks and add back into the stew. Be careful doing so, as the sausages will be hot!

In a separate pan, beat together the eggs and the other ingredients for the tortilla, adding the ground chorizo from the step above. Scramble all of this together, and cook in a fritatta pan; if you haven’t got a fritatta pan, you can improvise flipping the tortilla with a dinner plate placed over the omelette. Cut into 6 equal slices.

Slice the blood sausage and fry in olive oil. Set aside along with the tortilla. If you would like your stew thicker, make a roux by adding just under 2 Tbs. flour to 2 Tbs. oil over medium heat. Cook until the flour turns a pretty golden color. While whisking, add a ladelful of broth to the pan- this mixture will thicken almost immediately. Add more broth until the thick roux is pourable, at which point add it back into the stew.

Season to taste, adding cumin and thyme as desired. Serve hot with the tortilla and blood sausage on the side.

Enjoy!

White Beans and Bacon

Medieval White Beans and Bacon

“Then came lamprey pie, honeyed ham, buttered carrots, white beans and bacon, and roast swan stuffed with mushrooms and oysters.” (A Clash of Kings)

Modern White Beans and Bacon

Our thoughts:

Both of these recipes are absolutely wonderful. The medieval recipe really soaks up the bacon taste in the beans. Roughly chopped lardons paired with the buttery beans make for a lovely mouthful. The onions offer a bit of caramelized sweetness at the end of every bite.

The modern recipe is incredible. Curly endive is reminiscent of the broccoli rabe when wilted, balanced out phenomenally by the sweetness of the bacon and onions. We could eat this as a meal in itself! These dishes take about 10 minutes to make, and can easily be scaled up for more people.

Beans are indeed the magical fruit.

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