Flageolet are an odd bean. Maybe a little more vegetable-like than most beans, but not like limas or peas. They still are a bean. They have a thick skin but somehow they are delicate at the same time. They’re also extremely mild so they take on whatever flavors you can give them.
I cooked these simply with a bay leaf, and salt once they started to get soft. Conventional wisdom says to dress them while they’re still warm but I had a hunch that I wanted to toss them with a vinaigrette after they’d cooled. I wanted two distinct flavors. Beans and lemons, not lemony beans. Don’t forget to stir in some chopped fresh parsley at the end. It’s not just for color.
Serves 2 to 4 as a side
- 1 garlic clove
- Salt to taste
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- About 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 cups cooked Rancho Gordo Flageolet beans, drained and cooled
- Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley for garnish
- To make the vinaigrette, using a mortar and pestle, pound the garlic clove with the salt and thyme. Add the lemon juice. Once this is all mashed well, drizzle in extra virgin olive oil and mix until the sauce is emulsified. (Of course you can do this in a blender, food processor or just whisk the ingredients but I prefer the drama of a mortar and pestle.) Adjust the oil-to-acid ratio as you see fit but this should be a bright dish.
- Transfer the beans to a serving bowl and gently mix with the vinaigrette. Add chopped parsley and serve.