Meatless Mondays: Cranberry Bean Salad

There’s a tiny grocery store a block from the hospital where I work that sells produce at amazing prices.  Like $1 for more than a pound of green beans or 4 large red peppers.  Their selection is constantly changing, and every visit is an education in Caribbean and Latin foods.  I’m still working up the courage to ask the staff or my fellow shoppers how best to cook batatas and chayote, but I’m better able to identify what my patients tell me they eat.  It’s where I tell all of my patients to go to get affordable vegetables.  Last week, I stopped in to see what was in stock and was surprised and delighted to see fresh cranberry beans.  I have no idea where they came from since the last time I saw  cranberry beans at my farmers market was in October.  Have you seen these gorgeous legumes?  I would buy them just for the shells, which are a mottled fuschia that could be the inspiration for the end papers of fancy hardcover books of yore.

The beans themselves are creamy white speckled with burgundy or hot pink.  Unlike fava beans, cranberry beans only need to be peeled once, and they cook in half an hour.  Unfortunately, the beans lose their fabulousness in the cooking process to turn a disappointing grayish mauve.  Check out the before:

And the after:

I had tried a Smitten Kitchen cranberry bean salad (from her amazing cookbook) a few weeks ago with some dried cranberry beans, but I wanted to try something different with these fresh beans.  The beans were simmered in just plain water then drained.  I made a vinaigrette with dijon mustard, plain olive oil, lime juice (we’re out of lemons following a party), salt, and pepper.  The still warm beans soaked up the vinaigrette nicely.  I diced one stalk of celery and about a quarter cup of leftover red onion, minced the celery leaves, and halved a cup of rainbow cherry tomatoes.  This morning, I added half of a small avocado for more creaminess and also because I have four ripe avocados that need to be used up.  It was delicious.  The vinaigrette highlighted but didn’t overpower the gentle flavor of the beans.  The contrast of the toothsome beans, juicy tomatoes, crunchy cucumber and onion was perfect.  I don’t even think it needs a cheese to improve it. 

From a nutritional standpoint, legumes are a fantastic addition to your diet, whether you’re vegetarian or just trying to eat a little more healthfully.  Cranberry beans contain most of the essential amino acids, missing only methionine and phenylalanine, which can be provided in many grains to create a complete protein.  Legumes are seeds, so cranberry beans are very high in carbohydrates and calories.  Many of the carbohydrates are dietary fiber, which can promote GI health, lower cholesterol, and moderate blood sugar levels.  Cranberry beans are also rich in iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and folate.  They contain hardly any fat or sodium (if you cook them yourself) and are naturally cholesterol-free.

How do you use legumes?  Is there another fresh bean like cranberry or fava beans that I need to go looking for?