Haricot Beans

Ingredients

• a pint of beans
• a little tiny piece of soda
• a spoonful of good white sauce
• a brimming teaspoonful of finely-chopped parsley
• a small piece of butter
• the juice of half a lemon
• a little pepper
• a little salt

Method

1. 1

   Soak beans in cold water with soda for 12 hours.

2. 2

   Drain and boil for about an hour until tender.

3. 3

   For meatless occasions, boil in plain water; otherwise, use stock from bacon or ham.

4. 4

   Mix with white sauce or butter, parsley, lemon juice, pepper, and salt before serving.

As published

This recipe was extracted from The housekeeper's guide to preserved meats, fruits, vegetables, &c (1880), page 103. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

HARICOT BEANS. — White haricot beans are generally in this country used in the dried state. On the Continent they are a very 'favourite article of food, and are cooked fresh. It is to be re- gretted that this very cheap food is not more generally used in this country. They are very nice served with meat, and make an excellent garnish for a variety of dishes, or they can be served by themselves, and make a very sub- stantial and satisfying dish on occasions when meat is not eaten. To cook hari- cot beans proceed as follows : — Take say a pint of beans, and put them to soak for about twelve hours in some cold water in which a little tiny piece of soda has been dissolved. Indeed, it will always be best when haricot beans are to be used to put them to soak over- night. In the morning they should be drained off, but the cook should first see if any of the beans are floating on the surface. The bulk of the beans will of course sink, but occasionally two or three may be seen to float on the sur- face, which shows they are bad. The reason they float is that there is a little hollow space inside, which is pro- bably mildewed, and contains air. These beans, therefore, should be thrown away. Next take the bulk of the beans and boil them for about an hour, or till they are quite tender. If the beans are required for occasions on which persons do not take meat, they should be boiled in plain water, but should they be required for ordinary occasions, it is far best to boil them in some kind of coarse stock — as, for in- stance, water that has been used for boiling a piece of bacon or ham, or a leg of pork, or a piece of pickled pork, which is admirably adapted for boiling 68 ' CROSSE AND haricot beans. The fact is that these beans require some kind of fat, and if animal fat be objected to they should be moistened with a piece of butter or a little oil. When the beans are quite tender strain them off, and mix with them either a spoonful of good white sauce, such as bechamel sauce, or, better still, a spoonful of satire supreme. Add a brimming teaspoonful of finely- chopped parsley. Mix the whole well together, and serve. As a substitute for white sauce a small piece of butter should be used, in which case the beans should be mixed in the butter and chopped parsley added, as well as the juice of half a lemon and a little pepper

Cook this with the app: pantry check, scaling, and the assistant.