Last week, I found a kind of beans that I'd never heard of before. I believe they are imported from Spain, and I've seen them on the internet called haricots blancs géants. They are large and and plump, and they are sold in jars at Intermarché over in Noyers-sur-Cher and labeled as Alubias Judión. They melt in your mouth and the skins are exceedingly tender. They remind me of large, white lima beans I ate growing up in North Carolina, as well as of French beans sold as haricots de Soissons, which I only rarely find here in Saint-Aignan. Here's a blurb in French describing the Judión beans:
C’est un haricot de grande taille bien connu sous le nom de Judión. Malgré sa taille, ce haricot est très fin et très tendre. Sa texture, qui rappelle le beurre, ne manquera pas de vous surprendre. Nous préparons tous nos légumes de manière artisanale et cela se voit : ils sont tendres, on ne sent pas la peau, ils ont un goût franc et naturel de légume … et seulement de légume. Lorsque vous aurez goûté nos légumes, vous ne pourrez plus vous en passer!
I used a jar of Judión beans along with some French haricots rouges and Italian haricots plats (Romano beans) to make a three-bean salad. I added some blanched green, red, and yellow bell peppers to the mix, replacing the sugar that Americans often add to the vinaigrette dressing for such beans salads. I hope Intermarché continues to stock these Alubias Judión beans in the future.
To me, those are Butter Beans ("Sa texture, qui rappelle le beurre,").... a UK favourite .... haven't had any since coming over here and the haricot geants normally available are too gritty.... what you have described here are the real thing!! And, how you've used them is exactly how I'd use them!!
ReplyDeleteWe used the term "butter beans" in North Carolina (and apparently all through the American South) but we also used the term "Lima beans". I can't remember if there was a difference between the two.
DeleteIn supermarkets here (Saint-Aignan) I often see beans that are imported from Portugal and labeled as haricots beurre. They are pink, and to me they resemble pinto beans once they are cooked. I like them. Have you tried them?
Have you ever tried pois du Cap (referring to a South African bean) or haricots de Soissons? I think those two are basically the same bean and I like both. Problem is, I rarely see them in the shops or (super)markets any more.
No Ken, I haven't knowingly tried any of them, I will keep eyes open as for the Judión beans ...
DeleteWe grow Borolotti for the bean and haricot vert and buy red and black kidney beans [pre-cooked and dry] and all forms of white bean [precooked] and black-eye peas [dry].... plus we grow (on and off) Yin-Yang, Nun's Belly-button, Kew Blue [a climber], Cherokee Trail-of-Tears, Black Canterbury, Lazy Housewife.... and a whole bunch more... going to be sowing Kew Blue this week... and a bed of Nun's Belly-buttons....
we like beans!!
Nun's Belly-Button, Trail-of-Tears, Black Canterbury,. Lazy Housewife!!! Fun names, funny names!
DeleteMary in Oregon.... absolutely!
DeleteNun's Belly Button is the same in French, Nombril de Bonne Soeur (Nun's Navel)
Lazy Housewife is an American variety..... as is Cherokee Trail of Tears which is the bean that the Cherokee nation used in the 3-Sisters planting of beans, maize and pumpkins.... allegedly it developed the blood red streaks on the green bean after their forced displacement across country and when many died as a result....
Yin-Yang looks like a Yin-Yang symbol and is a very rounded bean from the Far East....
Black Canterbury is a black dried bean from the Canterbury area of Kent (pretty dull that one)....
and finally,
Kew Blue is a blue-flowered flat bean for drying, from Kew Gardens that has smallish, pinky-purple beans.... but there are loads and loads... America, France, Spain and Poland are the countries with the most varieties.
Thanks Le Pré de la Forge for the details of those bean varieties! My father's first Army post was in Oklahoma (before I was born) and I have heard of the Trail of Tears but the 3-Sisters is new to me. I will look into that (a very curious one - I am!) I know the Yin-Yang symbol and meaning! I have visited Canterbury for that fabulous Cathedral with my daughter. Unfortunately, Kew Gardens had to be for a future trip! I also want to see that White Garden at Sissyhurst (Sissinghurst?)! Are you in France or England?
DeleteMary, in France now [about 40mins south of Ken & Walt]... but formerly from the UK.
Delete"Sissinghurst" is correct.... lovely gardens
Here in the states, Trader Joe's (owned by Aldi) often has unusual canned beans.
ReplyDeleteOnce again, I have to say that you've got my mouth watering!
ReplyDeleteMy first thought was butter beans, too, but I know that you know your beans. I just Googled a bit, and they say that butter beans are also known as a type of lima beans, for one thing, but that these Judión beans are a type of butter bean, but they are exceptionally large, sometimes up to 2". Wow, that's a big bean! :) It says they are from Segovia :) (I imagine you know all this, anyway.)
Any news on being able to get a garden going this summer?
Great looking salad.
ReplyDeleteBettyAnn
Love 3-bean salad in the summer with grilled burgers! I'll look out for this bean on the shelves. Who knows? Trader Joe's, sadly, is privately owned and headquartered in Pasadena. No affiliation with Aldi. If they were publicly listed I'd buy shares. It is a great company with a very devoted customer base, including me.
ReplyDeleteThank you Ken, this salad looks delicious as usual. I’ve recently used those giant beans that I bought at a local Italian deli here in Canada and they were imported from Italy. They are much larger than butter/cannellini beans that I use in soups. Unfortunately, the skin of the giant beans cracked and peeled in the soup so I don’t think I will use them for that in future. Salads only from now on. They are impressive. Speaking of beans, for three years now I have been searching high and low for the little green frozen Lima beans that Green Giant used to sell in North America. I loved to put them in my homemade soups and have been looking for them for three years now. I’m wondering if you or any of your readers know why they’re no longer available? C.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had a bite of that salad.
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize your mystery beans were 2+ inches. I thought they looked like butter beans, too. I love them and many of the bean family. Probably not like you do! Three-bean salad was my almost daily choice when I was pregnant. The sweet/sour taste is so pleasant in my mouth. Yesterday for Mother's Day we ate Mexican Food. The refried pintos were always enjoyed. It had been too long, and my daughter even commented, "Mom, you must have been really hungry...you have cleaned your plate!" Ha! We had played hard pickleball for nearly 3 hours before arriving at the restaurant! All that comfort food really hit the mark! The Sangria didn't hurt, either!
ReplyDelete