Got this bag of borlotti beans today, 900 grams for 35sek / $3.65, which I think is pretty cheap?
Anywho, I have no prior experience with this exact type of beans, I’m mostly used to red kidney beans, black beans and butter beans.
What would you make with these? There’s a lot here, as they’re dry, so I should have enough to try a few different recipes.
I’d love suggestions on meals I can make that don’t involve too much fresh produce (not just recipes with the borlotti beans, but generally cheap meals I can make in bulk, preferably with frozen veggies as those are cheaper and I have some on hand).
I’m pretty well stocked in pantry supplies, but my budget to go out and get stuff I don’t have for a recipe, is around $15 MAX, as I currently have about $57 (or 550sek) to get me through the rest of June AND July.
Food banks aren’t available to me, so no need to suggest I go to one, thanks!
by TheSweDane
5 Comments
When I was growing up we had a pot of pinto beans once a week.Sort, rinse and soak like any other bean,toss in whatever vessel you would normally use to cook. Add salt, onion, garlic etc. Cook, then mash a few to thicken. We had them with chopped onion, salsa and cornbread.
Oh I just got a cool cookbook called cool beans out of a little library. I’ll look later for a few borlotti recipes.
But from the website:
https://www.ranchogordo.com/blogs/recipes/tagged/medium-beans
And any of these work:
https://www.ranchogordo.com/blogs/recipes/tagged/medium-beans
Ribillotta soup is good if you use canned tomatoes and blend very well and chill you could have cold ribolotta soup.
Those are my favorite beans! They’re also called Roman beans or Cranberry beans. I eat them all the time.
You can use them in any recipe where you’d normally use other types of beans, reducing cooking times a bit because they’re smaller than butter beans/kidney beans. Recipes calling for pinto beans (pinquitos) translate well. Flavor is mild, which means they pick up other flavors nicely.
I usually start by sweating down an onion, perhaps a bit of celery – leaves and all. Bell pepper too, garlic is good. Then add beans and liquid – water is fine, stock is better if you have it, or add bacon/ham scraps, a soup bone or a stock cube. Maybe a hot pepper or two if you like spice.
I like to add tomatoes, and they don’t have to be perfect. 2 pounds fresh tomatoes per bag is about right, or a can or two. It’s all pretty flexible.
If you’re watching your budget you can serve them over rice (I like brown rice – very filling) or noodles of some sort. My Mom used to let them cool enough to solidify and use them as a sandwich filling. It’s better than it sounds.
Best tip would be to test for salt at the end as they seem to need quite a bit. Spoon out a bit and add salt to that, taste it, then add salt to the pot to bring it to where you want it. Umami flavors like soy sauce, fish sauce, anchovy, etc. amp up the flavor – try first on a small serving first to see how you like it.
Enjoy!
I love beans, but I’ve never heard of these