SEPTEMBER’S HARVEST: SHELLING BEANS

 At the weekly farmers’ market in the Basque town of Guernica, I met a man selling pochas, fresh shelling beans. I asked to buy a half-pound, just to take home a tiny sample. He refused to sell them to me. He swore that his beans were so good that when I tasted them, I would kill myself for not having purchased more.

They were, indeed, remarkably good. Thankfully, I had purchased a sufficient quantity that suicide was not contemplated. 

Wishing for more, each year I plan to let some of my garden green beans mature to the shelling bean stage. I never seem to get more than a handful. But, while they are not as good as freshly ones, I have found jars of pochas in my supermarket to be a good substitute.

Pochas--shelling beans--cooked La Rioja style, with chorizo and a fritada of peppers.

Pochas are popular in the Basque Country, Navarra and La Rioja (regions of northern Spain). While any bean can be used mature, before it is dried, in northern Spain two cultivars seem to be grown especially to be harvested as pochas. (The name “pochas” means “pale.” When the seeds of green beans mature and the pods begin to dry and become brittle, they turn “pocha.”) They are ariñonada and bola. Great northern, cannellini or navy beans are the closest to them. Look for shelling beans in farmers’ markets this time of year.

If you have not got fresh podded beans, substitute jars or cans of white navy beans, black-eyed peas or small butter beans. Frozen shelling beans or butter beans can also be used in this dish.

A handful of podded beans from my garden.

Pochas, white and green, from a jar.  They are more delicate than regular beans. Take care in stirring not to break up the beans.

Fresh podded beans, although they look like dried beans, are still fresh, more vegetable than legume. They do not need soaking before cooking. Cook them until tender, 45 to 60 minutes. If using canned or frozen beans, add them to the cooking liquid and cook 10 minutes before adding the fritada, the fried mixture of peppers, onions and tomato, and chorizo.

Fresh guindilla chilies.

The season of pochas (September) coincides with the end of pepper growing, so the beans are usually served with peppers as an accompaniment. Navarra, famous for its piquillo peppers, incorporates that piquant pepper in the fritada, or fried mixture. In La Rioja, it is la alegría riojana, “Rioja joy,” a red pepper similar to jalapeño, that is roasted, peeled and sautéed in olive oil to serve alongside the beans. The Basques prefer their beloved piparra or guindilla, a mild green chile, pickled, or, if fresh, sliced and fried in olive oil. I had no Rioja “joy,” but am enjoying the fruits of a single pot of guindilla peppers. 

Serve pochas with bread, pickled green chilies on the side and a young Tempranillo from La Rioja.

Cooked beans are creamy, not too soupy.

Shelling Beans, La Rioja Style

Pochas a la Riojana  

For a vegetarian version, eliminate the chorizo and use smoked pimentón in place of ordinary pimentón. If canned piquillo peppers are not available, use any canned red pimiento or fire-roasted red pepper. If possible, use green Italian frying pepper (not hot). If not available, use a small green bell pepper.

The jars or cans of beans do not need to be drained before using. Add the beans directly to the cooking liquid. Stir them gently with a wooden spoon to avoid breaking delicate beans. Once cooked, the beans should be creamy, saucy, not soupy. If too thin, remove about a half cup of beans and liquid and puree in a blender. Stir it back into the pot to thicken the beans.

Serves 4.

4 cups water

Salt

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 whole tomato

1 green pepper, seeded

1 onion or leek, cut in half

1 carrot, sliced

4 cups (about 1 ¾ pounds) canned pochas, not drained

6-8 ounces sliced chorizo

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon pimentón (paprika)

½ cup (3 ounces) piquillo peppers, cut in strips

Guindillas (mild green chilies) as an accompaniment

Cook fresh beans and vegetables in water.

Put the water in a pot and add ½ teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, the tomato, green pepper, half of the onion or leek and sliced carrot. Bring to a boil and cook, covered, until tomato skin is split and carrots are tender, 10 minutes. (If using fresh podded beans, cook them in this water until they are tender, 45 to 60 minutes.) Remove the tomato and pepper with a slotted spoon and reserve them. 

Add the beans to the liquid. Use a wooden spoon to gently stir them into the cooking liquid. Cook the beans uncovered, 10 minutes. 

Peel tomato, cut up pepper.

Cut out the core from the tomato and slip off the skin. Crush or chop the tomato. Pull the pepper into strips, discarding as much of the skin as possible. Chop the remaining half onion.

For the fritada, heat remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a heavy skillet. Brown the slices of chorizo and remove them. Add the chopped onion and garlic to the fat remaining in the skillet. Sauté them 5 minutes. Stir in the pimentón. Add the strips of piquillo peppers, green pepper and crushed tomato. Season with salt. Return the chorizo to the skillet. Cook the vegetable mixture 10 minutes. 

Combine fritada and chorizo with beans.

Stir the fritada into the beans. Cook 5-10 minutes longer.

Serve the beans in shallow bowls accompanied by green chilies.

Fried guindillas top this serving.

Another recipe with podded beans: Quail with Shelling Beans.