It was a while ago, at some salon or other, that Nick and I first made the acquaintance of the haricot de Soissons. They immediately earned themselves a nickname: the Big Beans.
I think you can see why. The beans are grown in the Aisne valley (a name you may recognize from this beer post), located northwest of Reims and Northeast of Paris. It’s in the Picardie region, which isn’t necessarily known for its food, but these beans are notable for more than just their size – they’re also creamy-textured and incredibly flavorful.
So why am I writing about them now? Well, a few weeks ago I got some escarole in my CSA bag. The same week, Andrea from Cooking Books featured a recipe for a delightful fall stew with beans, greens, and sausage. She didn’t use it, but the original recipe called for escarole, and I had some! I figured it would be a good time to use the Big Beans, so I soaked them for a day and a half in salted water. All of you who are gasping in horror at the thought of adding salt to beans before they’re cooked should really go read this post at Nose to Tail at Home. (Thanks for the tip, Ryan!) Then I simmered them in more salted water until they were tender, about 45 minutes or so.
And then, I was ready to make stew. I didn’t have Italian sausage, and wouldn’t even know where to look for it in Paris, but I did have some ground pork. Which I cooked, seasoning it as though it were going to be sausage with red pepper flakes, fresh thyme and rosemary, and of course, plenty of salt. (If I’d had fennel seeds I totally would have used them, but it happens to be a gap in my otherwise fairly comprehensive spice collection.) From there, I just made stew: I added some onions, some broth, tomatoes, and the Big Beans. I let it all simmer for a bit while I cleaned and tore up some escarole, and then I stirred that in until it wilted.
We ate it for lunch on a cold, rainy Sunday afternoon, and it was just the ticket. Filling and warming and nap-inspiring. We had quite a bit left over, which Nick took to work and ate for lunch a few more times during the week. If that’s not a compliment to the chef, I don’t know what is.
Yesterday, in 2009: How to Make a Cream Soup (It may be cheating a little from the “This day in history” standpoint, but I think it’s an important post, so I’m putting it up anyway.)
Originally published on Croque-Camille.
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