The Bean Book: 100 Recipes for Cooking with All Kinds of Beans, from the Rancho Gordo Kitchen

The founder of heirloom bean purveyor Rancho Gordo offers an enticing, authoritative, and practical guide to using a wide variety of dried beans. It’s a book that might make you ask, “why don’t I eat more beans?”

While two recent books from Sando have been meatless (The Rancho Gordo Vegetarian Kitchen, Volume 1 and Volume 2), this book is not, though there are abundant vegetarian options. A number of recipes have been contributed by famous chefs and authors, such as Heidi Swanson, Jeremy Fox, and Najmieh Batmanglij.

Given how popular beans are in different cuisines, it’s no surprise that the recipes here reflect diverse culinary traditions, with the occasional update:

• Italian-style white beans on toast (comes with a Marcella Hazan story)

• Garbanzo salad with Spanish chorizo and red peppers

• Sauerkraut and white bean soup

• Lima beans a la Veracruzana with olives, tomatoes, and capers

• Fragrant Chana masala, made using desi chana, commonly called black garbanzos, though they’re not black

While specific Rancho Gordo beans are suggested, there is always an easily obtainable bean suggested as well.

Good looking photographs throughout the book enhance its appeal and the inspiration it offers.