National Culinary Review

with legumes are growing in popularity, especially during the summer months,” Holleman notes.

Black beans are among the other beans Semon has on his menu. His barbecue sides include a salad of yams, white corn and black beans.

Among his Painted Plate Catering vegetarian offerings are lentil loaf and black bean cakes, which he binds with some egg white and breadcrumbs. Or, he combines the beans with sauteed poblano peppers and dusts them with breadcrumbs or cornmeal before pan-frying.

“Vegetarians don’t want your version of eggplant Parmesan. Beans give their offerings more interest,” Semon says.

Black beans and pinto beans also are popular with his growing Latino clientele. “They are very interested in the kind of beans we serve.”

ON THE MENU

David Ross, chef/owner of 50 Local in Kennebunk, Maine, is a fan of legumes, especially those grown in his home state. He also uses butterscotch calypso beans, in Maine, generally called yellow eyes, as well as Jacob’s cattle and soldier beans—long white beans with reddish-brown “soldier” markings at the eye. He uses them to make a bean spread with olive oil, lemon juice and spices that is served to every table with housemade bread.

Ross stews beans with veal stock, mustard, butter, oven-roasted tomatoes, chorizo and Swiss chard. He serves the beans with seared cod or pork chops. “When I buy a whole pig, I run a special of pork chops and beans,” he says.

He also puts lentils on the menu, and especially likes belugas, a small black lentil that glistens when it cooks, making it look like caviar. He pairs the lentils with fish or lamb dishes, often seasoning them with Indian spices or pancetta or smoky sausage. “They are very versatile for vegetarian dishes and stews and soups. I don’t use as many lentils as I do beans, though, because they aren’t from Maine,” Ross says.

Peanuts are legumes sometimes found in the kitchen of Lemaire, the fine dining room in the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, Va. “Peanut soup is a Virginia tradition,” says Walter Bundy, executive chef. He serves it occasionally, and notes that it’s a regular menu item at TJ’s, another restaurant in the hotel.

GROW YOUR OWN LEGUMES

Legumes are a good addition to menu planning, and can be fun in the kitchen garden, as well. They are easy to grow, but need space and warmth. For detailed instructions on how to grow legumes, go to www.heirloom-organics.com. For heirloom seeds, visit www.seedsavers.org.

To test the process before you
make a commitment to serious
legume growing, do what Anne
Coleman did. An avid gardener,
Coleman trained to be a chef at
Northampton Community College
in Bethlehem, Pa. After working
in various culinary positions, she
“retired” to write about food for
Disney’s Family.com website and
raise her seven children. She
continued to garden.

One day, she decided to try and grow black beans from the contents of a soup mix. She stuck a couple of beans in the ground, and they grew. She says beans are easy to grow, but she cautions others not to be impatient, as she was. Be sure to let them dry thoroughly on the plant.

Sea Island red pea bisque is a fairly regular menu item that Bundy makes from the traditional pea used not only in Virginia, but in much of Southern cooking. Ruddy and small, with a rich creaminess, the pea was used in early versions of hoppin’ John. To make the bisque, Bundy combines the peas with smoked Surry sausage (made in Virginia), spicy espelette pepper oil (from French chile peppers) and grilled scallions.

White beans—especially great Northern, lentils and black beans play a role in Bundy’s menu. He also serves kidney beans with fresh venison, and notes that “favas and lima beans are big for us. Legumes help us diversify our menu and are popular with our customers.”