The Bean Book: 100 Recipes for Cooking with All Kinds of Beans, from the Rancho Gordo Kitchen [A Cookbook]

MARVELOUS book!
REALLY marvelous book! Thanks to a friend who turned me on to them, I’ve been a Rancho Gordo bean woman for over a decade now, ordering online multiple times. They offer a wonderful variety, with some gorgeous varieties from indigenous growers in Mexico. Even after much exploration, their rio zapes remain my hands-down favorite for chili: those hints of coffee and chocolate are for real, and their texture is perfect. But, back to the book: I really appreciate the coverage of bean histories. And the detailed descriptions of many types of beans. Even with just a first fairly quick go-through, I see many recipes that I want to make. (Luckily, I live in the SF bay area, so pretty much all of the ingredients are available locally. If that fails, there’s the internet.) And, this book is visually gorgeous, printed on high-quality paper, and beautifully bound. (Ten Speed Press does not disappoint.) And, Steve’s writing is warm, personal and witty. Reading him is like having a best friend standing and prepping with you in the kitchen. I predict that this book will become one of those often-used, loved, and possibly page-stained favorites in my kitchen. Buy it!

Magnificent: a “must-have” for all bean lovers !
I’m a die-hard “I don’t use recipes” snob and bean know-it-all: I’ve been cooking dried beans for decades, eat beans that I’ve cooked from dried at least once a day, and have at least 6 other bean books in my cookbook library (including 3 by Rancho Gordo), but, somehow, there are 9 Post-It notes on my brand-new book highlighting inspirations that I can’t wait to try. The book is really magnificent: it’s not only gorgeous, but comprehensive. It makes a perfect self-gift or a gift for anyone who says “I’d like to learn how to cook dried beans from scratch.” DO read the introduction, the chapter intros, and the recipe headers: we all benefit by absorbing the author’s decades of knowledge and philosophy about all things bean. Many of the recipes are vegetarian because Mr. Sando makes his preference for pristine beans clear. Moreover, he indicates whether ingredients (e.g. anchovies, lard, chicken broth) are optional and frequently suggests vegetarian alternatives. For the most part, the ingredients are accessible or amazonable. An ingredient list may look long, but it’s mostly suggested herbs and spices. Only a couple are a bit fancy: saffron and preserved lemons. The author is a purist when it comes to beans, but not for ingredients that may be important time-savers for home cooks: for example, he calls for frozen spinach. Or presumably store-bought preserved lemons. The author shouts out other famous bean recipes, such as Smitten Kitchen’s famous “Pizza Beans.” And mentions some brand names that we all want to see: for example, Anson Mills’ heirloom grains.My only query is why there are no charts with suggested cooking times for specific types of beans, or, for that matter, any suggested cooking times for beans. Different types of beans vary widely in their cooking times, so this is a puzzle to me. The book showcases 52 varieties of heirloom beans in 18 pages devoted to their presentation, with plenty of white space for each bean, but no “Suggested stovetop cooking time X minutes.” Yet the recipes call for “cooked” beans. I suggest some browsing on the Rancho Gordo website to help the uninitiated figure out whether they’ll be able to make it to their kid’s soccer game that afternoon.However, the book is otherwise magnificent: it presents the classics (“Senate Bean Soup,” anyone?), dips, burgers, sides, soups, and stews. Gotta try “Refried Beans” to see whether it beats mine. Ditto with “Midnight Black Bean Soup”: I need to try it with Mexican oregano. One of my Post-It’s is for “Slow-Baked Garbanzos.” What? I love garbanzos, I can’t wait to try this technique! All 9 Post-It’s: I can’t wait to try!

Excellent bean book – beautifully written and made – carefully edited – lacks lentil recipes
The Bean Book by Steve Sando is an absolute necessity for anyone committed to expanding their diet to include beans. I’ve been ordering beans through the author’s mail order company for several years and appreciate having a reliable set of cooking instructions for the exquisite beans available through Rancho Gordo. My one concern about The Bean Book is that it does not include recipes for lentils. Still, I love it and hope that Mr. Sando will continue to publish books, or work with recipe developers and cookbook authors to produce more recipes specific to his products. I would rate this book five stars if only it included recipes for lentils. Lentils are not beans, but they are sold by Steve Sando’s company, and I was hoping for recipes for them.

This Book Is Beantastic!
Amazing find! If you like beans this is a great resource and you’ll discover so many beans you never knew about. Great recipes for everyone too.

Va a ser difícil comprar las mismas alubias aquí en España, pero podremos encontrar sustitutos fácilmente. Recetas nada complicadas pero deliciosas, algunas un poco repetitivas, pero no muchas. Sólo hay un par que no haré en todo el libro y esto sólo por cuestión de alergias. Muy recomendable. En inglés, claro.

Love this book!