Green beans, string beans, snap beans, whatever name you use, are you one of those people who thinks of them only when Thanksgiving rolls around? Green bean casserole, anyone?
Maybe you’re a little more adventurous with beans, taking inspiration from other cuisines: Asian beans spiced with garlic, ginger, scallions, chili paste and soy sauce; Mediterranean beans flavored with onions, tomatoes and garlic; or haricots vert in the French tradition, perhaps cooked with a little white wine, mushrooms or pearl onions.
Tony Ashcraft of Tony’s Fresh Produce Farm in Austell sells green beans, wax beans, half runner beans and pole beans from 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays at the Smyrna Fresh Produce Market and from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursdays at the Powder Springs Farmers Market. This is his third year of selling at the markets. “It was more or less a hobby, but when I started taking my vegetables to the farmers markets, I grew out of my backyard to a 2 1/2 [two and a half] acre garden,” he said.
Ashcraft confesses he saves most of his wax beans for use in his catering business, Mother’s Finest Catering in Mableton. “With their yellow color, they’re so pretty and they’re expensive to buy, so I end up using most of them myself,” he said. Wax beans, of course, along with green beans and kidney beans, are the traditional components of a classic three-bean salad.
At the markets, Ashcraft finds his customers divided into two camps. “People from the South will always buy pole beans, while people who aren’t from here will only buy snap beans. As a chef, I’m happy to give out recipes to anyone who asks, and my favorite way to prepare snap beans is to cook them with olive oil, garlic and rosemary. But if I’m cooking pole beans, I just cook them the traditional way with a piece of bacon and some salt, and boil them until they’re as tender as you like them,” he said.
Locally grown fresh beans will be around for just a few more weeks. As our nights get cooler, the plants stop producing blossoms, and that will end the harvest.
One pound of beans is about 3 cups raw, and when cooked will yield about 2 cups. Beans are an excellent source of vitamins C and K and a good source of vitamin A, and 3/4 (three-quarters) cup has about 25 calories.
What’s happening at local farmers markets
For sale at the markets
Fruit: Apples, Asian pears, Concord grapes, muscadines, pears
Vegetables and herbs: Arugula, basil, beans, beets, broccoli, chestnuts, cucumbers, edamame, eggplant, garlic, lettuce, micro greens, mushrooms, okra, onions, Southern peas, peppers, potatoes, radishes, summer squash, tomatoes, turnips, winter squash
Events this week:
8 a.m. to noon Wednesday, Oct. 6
Fall Festival including scarecrow-decorating contest
Dunwoody Green Market
For information: www.dunwoodygreenmarket.com
Cooking demos:
9:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 2
Chef Linton Hopkins, Restaurant Eugene
Morningside Farmers Market
For information: www.morningsidemarket.com
10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 2
Chef Adam Evans, Craftbar
Peachtree Road Farmers Market
For information: www.peachtreeroadfarmersmarket.com
From local reports
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Bean and Smoked Trout Salad
Hands on: 15 minutes
Total time: 15 minutes
Serves: 4
This main course salad was created by Craftbar chef de cuisine Adam Evans, who is doing a chef demo at the Peachtree Road Farmers Market on Oct. 2. Evans likes watermelon radishes, which are just coming into season, for this salad. If you can’t find them, any radish will work fine. Both Evans and Craft Atlanta chef de cuisine Kevin Maxey are avid local fishermen, and this is a recipe Evans uses with the fish he catches. Smoked trout and crème fraiche are available at most grocery stores and in specialty markets.
1 pound mixed green and yellow beans, trimmed and cut in half
4 large radishes, trimmed, cut in half and into 1/4 (one-quarter)-inch slices
1 head lettuce or 6 cups spring green mixture, rinsed and dried
1/2 (one-half) cup extra-virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and pepper
Pickled mushrooms and shallots, optional (see recipe)
1/2 (one-half) cup crème fraiche
1/2 (one-half) pound smoked trout, broken into serving-size pieces
In a medium saucepan, bring 4 cups salted water to a boil and add beans. Cook 2 minutes or until just tender. Drain, cool in ice water and drain again. Set aside. Can be made and refrigerated up to 1 day ahead.
Cut radish in half and then slice into half moons. Separate lettuce leaves.
When ready to serve, in a large bowl, combine green beans, radishes and lettuce. Toss with olive oil and lemon juice; add salt and pepper to taste.
Prepare 4 serving plates by dividing crème fraiche between them. Top with bean mixture. If using pickled mushrooms, arrange on top of beans; top with pieces of smoked trout.
Per serving: 479 calories (percent of calories from fat, 72), 17 grams protein, 18 grams carbohydrates, 6 grams fiber, 40 grams fat (10 grams saturated), 60 milligrams cholesterol, 471 milligrams sodium.
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Pickled Mushrooms and Shallots
Hands on: 10 minutes
Total time: 10 minutes plus resting time
Makes 1 cup
Evans uses chanterelles in this recipe, but you should adapt it to what you can find.
1 cup mushrooms
2 shallots, sliced
1 cup rice wine vinegar
1 cup water
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon mixed pickling spice
Trim mushrooms; quickly rinse and pat dry. In a small bowl, combine mushrooms and shallots. Set aside.
In a 1-quart measuring cup, combine vinegar, water, sugar, salt and pickling spice. Heat in microwave until boiling, about 4 minutes. Carefully remove from microwave and pour over mushrooms and shallots. Allow to cool to room temperature. Can be used right away, or prepared ahead and stored in refrigerator up to 1 week. Store in brine; drain when ready to serve.
Per 1/4-cup serving: 89 calories (percent of calories from fat, 6), 1 gram protein, 19 grams carbohydrates, trace fiber, 1 gram fat (trace saturated fat), no cholesterol, 1,602 milligrams sodium.
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