Summer Bean Stew with Pancetta

Name: Summer Bean Stew with Pancetta
Yield: serves 8 as a main dish, 12 as a side dish
Ingredients: 1 pound dried heirloom beans, preferably mixed varieties; 1 1/2 yellow onions, peeled, cut into thick wedges; 3 carrots, peeled, cut into large chunks; 3 celery ribs, cut into large chunks; 3 bay leaves; Kosher salt; 1/4 pound yellow wax beans, ends trimmed, cut into 1/2-inch pieces; 1/4 pound slender green beans, ends trimmed, cut into 1/2-inch pieces; 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 1/4 pound pancetta, diced; 1 yellow onion, finely chopped; 2 cloves garlic, minced; 1 1/2 cups peeled, seeded, and diced plum tomatoes (fresh or canned); 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley; Freshly ground black pepper

December 22, 2011

With names like Good Mother Stallard, Goat’s Eye, and Yellow Indian Woman, the dried heirloom beans from Rancho Gordo (see page 55) charm diners familiar with only generic dried beans. Rancho Gordo proprietor Steve Sando finds some of these intriguing beans in Mexico and Central America and arranges to buy them direct from the farmers. Others are grown on farms in Northern California. You can use a single bean type for this dish, but Brian prefers to use multiple varieties, simmering them separately to accommodate their different cooking times. Just before serving, he unites them with a tomato sauce and some blanched fresh yellow and green beans. You could make a meal of this summer stew with a green salad and some crusty bread, or serve it as an accompaniment to grilled lamb. Note that the beans must soak overnight.

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