Midsummer to early fall is prime season for beans of all kinds: green beans, pole beans and yellow beans. This time, we’re talking about yellow beans, whose pale yellow pods stand out among the predominantly green and red vegetables of summer. Yellow beans are sometimes called “wax” beans, a tribute to their satiny sheen.
Like many, Paula Guilbeau of Cumming’s Heirloom Gardens never saw a fresh yellow bean when she was growing up. Canned yellow beans were a standard feature of three bean salad, but fresh beans? Never seen at the grocery store.
Guilbeau began growing yellow beans just to have something different for her customers. She quickly became a fan. “The pods are sweeter than green beans. They taste almost like butter, and now I find I prefer them over green beans,” Guilbeau said.
Guilbeau sells her yellow beans at the Dunwoody Green Market on Wednesdays and the Peachtree Road Farmers Market on Saturdays and sells online at the Cumming Harvest at locallygrown.net and to restaurants. She also offers a community-supported agriculture box to her customers.
Her yellow beans are growing like “gangbusters,” she said. She began harvesting beans — planted in the middle of April — the first week of June. She plants seed every three weeks to keep the harvest going and should have yellow beans available until early October.
Guilbeau’s favorite way to prepare yellow beans is sautéed with a little onion and garlic. Sometimes she adds a little chicken or vegetable stock to the sauté pan.
Like all fresh beans, yellow beans should be stored in the refrigerator lightly wrapped to keep in their moisture. Fresh beans should keep about a week. Rinse and break off the tips from the stem end just before cooking.
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Yellow Bean Salad
Hands on: 15 minutes Total time: 15 minutes, plus marinating Serves: 6
Consider this an updated version of traditional three bean salad.
11/2 pounds yellow beans, trimmed
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
3/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
Freshly ground black pepper
In a microwave-safe container, combine beans with 1/4-inch water and cover with wax paper or parchment paper. Heat in microwave on high for 5 minutes or until beans are just tender. Carefully remove from microwave, drain off any water and allow beans to cool. Put cooled beans in a refrigerator container and add sliced onion.
In a medium bowl, whisk together vinegar, sugar, oil, lime juice and salt. Pour over beans and onions. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to 2 days ahead.
When ready to serve, combine beans and onions with cherry tomatoes and basil. Garnish with freshly ground black pepper. Serve cold or at room temperature.
Per serving: 286 calories (percent of calories from fat, 55), 3 grams protein, 32 grams carbohydrates, 5 grams fiber, 19 grams fat (1 gram saturated), no cholesterol, 369 milligrams sodium.
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At local farmers markets
Cooking demos:
● 6 p.m. today. Chef Seth Freedman of Forage and Flame. East Atlanta Village Farmers Market, Atlanta. www.farmeav.com
● 9:30 a.m. Saturday. Chef Lane Gummere of Bantam and Biddy, working with yellow beans. Morningside Farmers Market, Atlanta. www.morningsidemarket.com
● 10 a.m. Saturday. Chef Rebecca Lang. Peachtree Road Farmers Market, Atlanta. www.peachtreeroadfarmersmarket.com
● 11 a.m. Saturday. Chef Rafih Benjelloun of Imperial Fez. Green Market at Piedmont Park, Atlanta. www.piedmontpark.org
For sale
Vegetables, fruit and nuts: arugula, Asian greens, beets, blueberries, broccoli, cabbage, cantaloupe, carrots, chard, collards, corn, cucumbers, dandelion, eggplant, endive, escarole, fava beans, fennel, field peas, figs, garlic, green beans, green onions, herbs, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, Malabar spinach, mushrooms, mustard greens, okra, onions, pattypan squash, pea shoots, peaches, pears, pecans, peppers, potatoes, sorrel, spaghetti squash, spinach, squash blossoms, tomatoes, turnips, watermelon, yellow beans, yellow squash, zucchini
From local reports
