If you thought farmers markets were colorful last week, you’ll be pleased to know they could be even better now — at least judging by the white, green and purple cauliflower I saw at the Daley Plaza Farmers Market on Thursday (50 W. Washington St., 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. through Oct. 29).
That’s in addition to the green and purple cabbage, dozens of red, green and yellow tomatoes, and the display of green string beans and yellow wax beans at the Mark’s Farm Market and Greenhouse stand from LaPorte, Ind.
But once at the stand, it was the bins of beans with speckled pods that intrigued me.
So I chatted with Kaleena Mark, who explained each one. Right now’s the season for shell, or shelling, beans. These are beans that often stay in their pods until they’ve dried and you buy them in bags or cans. But they’re young and fresh at farmers markets now.
There are many varieties of these beans, with names that can change depending on the region they’re grown in or who’s doing the cooking. Here are just a few: crowder peas (also called black-eyed peas), shelly (also called cranberry, borlotti, pinto) and purple hull.
Once a pound of these shells are shucked and the nonedible pod discarded, you should get about 1 1/2 cups of beans, Mark says.
Shell beans can be cooked in boiling water until just tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Some folks like to add ham or other cured pork. Others add an onion. You could dress the cooked shell beans with a basic vinaigrette and fresh herbs. Or try this succotash recipe from the baiduhai’s files from Pierre Franey, the late French chef and “60 Minute Gourmet” columnist for The New York Times:
Indiana-style succotash: Cook 1 cup shelled cranberry beans until tender; drain and set aside. Heat 3 tablespoons butter in a large skillet. Add 1 1/2 cups finely chopped red onion and 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic; cook, stirring, until wilted. Add 2 cups red ripe tomatoes cut into 1/4-inch cubes, freshly ground pepper to taste and 3 tablespoons finely chopped parsley; cook about 1 minute. Add cooked beans and 1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels scraped from the cob; cook about 2 minutes. Serves 4.
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