Bean Report: Mayocoba and Flageolet

Beans. We eat beans all the time. And by that I mean mostly garbanzo beans (aka chickpeas), kidney beans, and black beans. I get them in the bulk section dry and make batches regularly to have on hand and to store in the freezer. But, during the pandemic, I started ordering from a little vegan grocer downtown called Orchard Grocer. They have all kinds of awesome products, pantry staples and items I can’t get locally. The last time I ordered, I spied Rancho Gordo beans on their list and ordered mayocoba and flageolet beans without knowing anything about them. Hello? Where have these beans been all my life??

Maybe I am late to the Rancho Gordo party, but now that I know about their heirloom beans, I am all in. All in! I even put myself on their bean club waitlist. If you are someone who doesn’t like beans or are sick of the same old, same old, it is time to get your hands on some too. 

Let’s talk about these flageolet beans first. Try not to get distracted by the gigantic roasted tomatoes.

These little flageolet beans are light green in color and keep their shape really well after they cook up. They kind of taste like a really delicious baby green bean. The package said they pair well with roasted tomatoes, so I drizzled some tomatoes on the vine with olive oil, seasoned them with salt, and roasted them at 400 while I prepared the beans. I sautéed onions, garlic, and colorful carrots until everything was soft and tossed in the beans. I plated it up with all of the juices from the roasted tomatoes and topped it with fresh parsley. Oh my goodness. This is fully going into the regular rotation!

The other beans I got are called mayocoba. They are white beans, like cannellini or white kidney beans, but honestly so much better. I have had trouble in the past cooking dry cannellinis so I was thrilled at how perfectly these mayocoba cooked up. To serve them, I sautéed an onion with garlic and jalapeños, and when they were soft, I added the beans and some bean water to create a silky little sauce. I served them over rice with avocado on the side. These are also going into the rotation. 

I can’t wait to explore this new world of beans, and hopefully get into the bean club sooner than later. In the meantime, I will be making more dishes with mayocoba and flageolet. Actually, I guess I am going to have to ration them since Rancho Gordo is sold out of most of their beans!