‘COOL BEANS’
Cookbook author makes the case for the humble — and sexy — legume in a wide variety of dishes
Joe Yonan admits he may have overestimated his enthusiasm for a cookbook dedicated to beans.
“When I first proposed the book, one of the things I said to my publisher is I want to make beans sexy again,” said the two-time James Beard Award-winning food editor and cookbook author. “But I realized I needed to leave out the word ‘again.’ Because beans were never that sexy.”
But in “Cool Beans,” Yonan packs plenty of enthusiasm for a staple that is an important part of the foodways fabric for much of the world. Illustrated with photographs of voluptuous bean-based dishes, the book makes an excellent case for including more beans in our everyday diet. And at the same time Yonan has fulfilled his initial passion for the rescuing the reputation of the humble, ancient legume: He’s brought sexy back to beans.
“Cool Beans” arrives at a time when Americans are fascinated by plant-based foods, specifically the great interest in meatless products such as those made by Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods. Though the cookbook doesn’t necessarily champion a meatless diet, it stands as a delicious advocate for the role beans play in our dining culture and at our dinner table. Yonan notes that beans hold a unique culinary status in that they are the only food that can be categorized, according to the USDA, as both a protein and a vegetable. And with hundreds of varieties grown throughout the world, there is no good excuse for avoiding beans.
Still, Yonan recognizes that beans are “not as wildly popular in the United States as I think they deserve to be.” Part of that may have to do with their “mysterious” nature, specifically how to cook them. He suggests, too, that the frugal nature of beans — they have traditionally provided sustenance for the world’s impoverished — works against them, especially among those who associate legumes with a hippie culture of pot-smoking longhairs stirring a pot of threebean chili.
Even for a vegetarian like himself, Yonan thought beans would be an uphill climb.
“When I was first starting on the book, there was a nagging voice in my head: ‘How on earth am I going to come up with 125 recipes using beans?’ And then it was, ‘How am I going to stop at 125?’ I keep discovering good ideas.”
In addition to recipes that make you want to cook a pot of beans, Yonan lays out some history, cooking tips and engaging discussion about beans in our culture. And, yes, there is a bit of practical instruction about the issue of flatulence (and how to minimize it).
The best takeaway from
“Cool Beans” is Yonan’s wise advice to imagine your favorite dishes and then how beans can factor into them — which not only broadens your diet but gets healthful and delicious beans into your recipe repertoire.
“If you know you like hummus, try different bean purées. If you know you like a taco with ground beef, a bean taco is a no-brainer. If you like an Impossible Burger but are concerned about the processed nature of Impossible Foods or Beyond Meat, making veggie burgers with beans is a great way to go,” Yonan said. “There are a lot of chances for you to bean it up!”