The Bean Book by Steve Sando

The Bean Book

by Steve Sando

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the founder of the acclaimed Rancho Gordo bean company, an authoritative guide to 50 bean varieties and how to cook with them, featuring 100 classic and modern recipes.

“The Bean Book is the magnum opus from the KING of heirloom beans!”—Ted Allen, host of Food Network’s Chopped

“An absolute must-have for anyone who believes that beans can be every bit as magical as a spoonful of caviar.”—Chef José Andrés

Learn how easy it is to cook beans from scratch with the king of beans. Rancho Gordo beans, the legumes with a cult following and Bean Club waiting list more than 20,000 names long, brought attention to heirloom bean varieties through chefs like Thomas Keller and Marcella Hazan.

Founder and owner Steve Sando, with twenty-five years’ experience in growing, sourcing, and cooking with beans, is the perfect home cook to present classic recipes as well as new combinations for all kinds of eaters. With more than 100 recipes, there are vegan and vegetarian dishes like Fennel, Potato, and White Bean Soup with Saffron and Pizza Beans as well as full-on meat-lovers’ meals like Napa Valley Cassoulet, Southwestern Chile con Carne, and Clay-Baked Pacific Cod Gratin with Onions and White Beans.

The Bean Book includes instructions for cooking beans using multiple methods, then transforming those cooked beans into satisfying dips, soups, salads, mains, sides, and desserts. There is nobody better than the man behind Rancho Gordo to share recipes, tips, and historical background in a beautifully photographed, comprehensive collection, sure to be a classic.

Reviewed by annieb123 on

5 of 5 stars

Share

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

The Bean Book is a fresh tutorial guide to the staple versatile legumes written by Steve Sando, with recipes curated by the author. Due out 10th Sept 2024 from Penguin Random House on their Ten Speed Press imprint, it's 288 pages and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats. 

Beans (and other legumes) are often shoved to the side in most dishes. There are relatively few recipes where they are really allowed to shine. Beans are used to provide protein and bulk to soups and stews. The author is a true believer and the 100 recipes here are both traditional and innovative. Additionally, the author invites readers to learn about the different types of beans and their uses, and the book is full of minutiae and interesting tidbits about origins and species of bean, and how to showcase them at their best. This -is- a book full of heirloom beans (which the author's company sells), but he provides alternatives in the recipes to rarer heirloom beans.

The introductory tutorials (how to choose, how to grow, general how to cook, and pantry/staples lists), a very handy primer on bean types, leads directly into the recipes, arranged thematically: bean dips/appetizers, salads, soups, braises stews & stovetop dishes, beans & grains, baked beans, patties fillings sauces & more, and sweets stocks & salsas.

Recipe ingredients are listed bullet style in a sidebar, followed by step-by-step prep instructions. Ingredient measures are given in imperial (American) units. The recipes do not have nutritional info listed. The ingredients will mostly be readily available at any well stocked grocery store in North America. Some of the bean varieties might require a specialist grocery store or international grocer. The emphasis is on whole ingredients and the recipes are fairly light on premade/convenience ingredients, which is a plus. The author does use items like premade hot sauce/pepper sauce, but otherwise very few convenience items.

About 20% of the recipes are accompanied by one or more photos. The dishes are professionally styled, colorful, appealing, and appropriate. 

This is a good "everyday" recipe book and will find a home in casual home kitchens. Not all the recipes are vegetarian/vegan friendly (many are), but there are a generous number of entries which are without meat or animal products and most of the others can be adapted fairly easily.

Five stars. This is a very attractive colorful and useful book. It would be an excellent choice for public library acquisition, home use, smallholding, gardening club library, or similar uses. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Last modified on

Reading updates

  • 17 August, 2024: Started reading
  • 17 August, 2024: Finished reading
  • 17 August, 2024: Reviewed