Beautiful Heirloom Beans

If you have been following my blog for even a little bit, you know that I gravitate towards the unexpected...and I really tend to be attracted to odd-ball foods such as black garlic, black tahini (here's my Black Tahini Chocolate Bundt), and more.

So, when I went to the farmers' market last night and saw these - beautiful, midnight-hued heirloom beans - at Serendipity Farms' stand, I had to have them. I am not sure exactly what they are. They look similar to the Royal Burgundy Bush Bean (thank you, internet), but they were just identified as heirloom beans.

Whatever they are, they are gorgeous! They are almost black on the outside, but bright green on the inside.

Unfortunately, they lost that beautiful coloration when they were blanched. But they were so tasty. With beans as fresh as these, they need little more than a quick blanch, some sea salt, a squeeze of lemon, and a drizzle of olive oil. Not much of a recipe but here's what I did...

Ingredients

1 to 2 lbs heirloom beans
water
freshly ground sea salt
organic lemon
olive oil

Procedure

Trim the ends from the beans. Place beans in a large pot and cover them with water. Place over medium to high heat. As soon as the water comes to a boil, drain the beans and shock them with cold water.

Place the beans on a serving platter. Sprinkle with salt, squeeze fresh lemon juice over them, and drizzle with olive oil. Serve immediately.

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