Chopped Salad with Bean-and-Yogurt Dressing
Martha Rose Shulman’s genius Caesar salad dressing made with beans and yogurt got us thinking about bean-based dressings. We experimented and came up with this version, using our pineapple vinegar. For...
Recipes
Creamy White Bean, Olive, and Goat Cheese Spread
A unique mixture of beans, goat cheese, and olives that can be used as a dip with bread or crackers, as a spread, or even as a topping for roasted...
Avocado and White Bean Salsa
A unique salsa bursting with flavor and color. What's not to love? Any white bean would work here (black beans would be good, too!). Serve it with chips for dipping, or...
Minestrone with White Beans and Savoy Cabbage
Marcella Hazan’s Minestrone alla Romagnola is a classic. We streamlined it a little, and also tried it in a slow cooker with great results (see note, below). Your bag of...
Golden Pan-Fried Big White Beans with Wilted Greens
Yotam Ottolenghi’s seminal cookbook, Plenty, includes a recipe for fried lima beans served with a tangle of wilted greens and soft cheese. Here is our take on that recipe. Of course,...
Italian-Style White Bean and Asparagus Soup
Adapted from Fagioli by Judith Barrett, this vegetable-laden soup became a staff favorite when we made it in the Rancho Gordo test kitchen. It's based on a soup served in...
Royal Corona Bean and Wine Forest Mushroom Stew with Swiss Chard
We've asked our friends at Wine Forest Wild Foods (and literally, my neighbors across the street) to help us with a recipe and Chef Staffan Terje delivered a vegetarian stew...
Santa Maria–Style Beans with Medjool Dates
I was gifted a box of dates over the holidays. I was appreciative, but I wasn't prepared to be overwhelmed with joy. These were the best dates I'd ever had!...
Roasted Pepper and Royal Corona Salad
Lately, I've been indulging in jars of roasted red peppers from Trader Joe's. But I do roast fresh poblano chiles, often. If I have a couple, I will roast them...
Marcella Beans and Cauliflower in a Lemon Caper Sauce
New York Times contributor Hetty McKinnon recently wrote about Cauliflower Piccata, which on the face of it sounds like a cute way to avoid veal but really, the thought of...
Valley Bar & Bottle Black Garbanzo Hummus
Our original plans to celebrate our 20th anniversary were thwarted by the pandemic. We had planned a major shindig with lots of guests and even a cumbia band, but of...
Buckeye Beans with Roasted Peppers & Pumpkin Seeds
After some noodling around in the kitchen, we came up with this dish featuring our fabulous Buckeye Beans (aka Yellow Indian Woman). Is it a stew? It's not a soup. It's...
How to Cook Beans in the Rancho Gordo Manner
There is not one single method of cooking beans. At its most basic, you want to simmer the pot until the beans are soft. Soaking can speed up the...
Black Caviar Lentils and Potatoes with Crème Fraîche
I've been following Taffy Elrod on Twitter for a while but I think I noticed her sharp, insightful messages mostly during the pandemic. As we were all trying to figure...
Alubia Blanca, Watercress, and Herb Salad
In her seminal book, The Mexican Gourmet, author Maria Dolores Torres Yzabal includes a salad with just half cilantro and half watercress. Steve was intrigued by this and started making...
Yellow Eye and Fennel Casserole
We appreciate fennel most when it's raw and thinly sliced or slowly braised and caramelized. It's an amazing vegetable and our own Rachel Padilla took a fine but somewhat stodgy recipe...