The Rancho Gordo Vegetarian Kitchen Volume 1: Everyday Cooking with Heirloom Beans, Vegetables, Greens, and Grains

Beans are a staple of vegetarian cooking, and the folks at Rancho Gordo know beans like nobody's business. Here they share practical ideas for weeknight bean dishes that are flavorful and simple.

Rancho Gordo specializes in heirloom beans, working with growers throughout the US and Mexico to raise and market varieties which have been around for generations. They suggest using particular varieties of beans in each dish, but it is easy to imagine making changes to suit what's in your pantry.

For instance, a dish of Alubia Blanca beans with Romesco sauce and crispy potatoes could easily be adapted to all sorts of beans. There are, in fact, a number of ideas that are so simple that no recipe is provided, such as Eye of the Goat beans and wild rice topped with chopped pecans and pecan oil.

The second volume of this set is just as user friendly and appealing. You can find it here.

Hardcover. Color photographs throughout.