Yellow Eye Heirloom Beans

Yellow Eye Beans With Garlicky Salsa Verde
Cotija Cheese

In a pot, these Rancho Gordo Heirloom Beans were covered with about 2 inches of water and soaked for 4 hours, a bay leaf was added, brought to a boil, then simmered for around 2 hours until the dense and creamy beans were tender. Salt to taste.

To a good amount of olive oil add chopped garlic. Heat until the garlic is fragrant but not browned, add salsa verde (hot or mild depending on your taste). Then add the cooked Yellow Eye Heirloom Beans and heat through. This recipe of beans with olive oil, garlic and salsa verde was inspired by Nancy Silverton in her cookbook, A Twist of the Wrist. Served here with an extra dollop of salsa verde and grated cotija atop the beans. Cotija cheese is a hard cow’s milk cheese named after the town of Cotija, Mexico where it originated. This cheese is delicious grated over warm beans.
I am sending this side dish of Yellow Eye Beans with Garlicky Salsa Verde over to my blogger friend Simona of Briciole, as she is hosting Susan The Well-Seasoned Cook’s, Legume Love Affair Event for November. Are you a bean aficionado? Make sure to check out Legume Love!

On my drive home from work yesterday, I just had to stop and take some photos as the sun was setting. Most of the smoke and ash from the fires has blown away. On Saturday, there was a fire right here on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Thankfully this one was extinguished quickly with no major damage.

My heart goes out to all Southern Californians who lost their homes in the recent wildfires.

24 thoughts on “Yellow Eye Heirloom Beans”

  1. I love Rancho Gordo…buy beens almost every month…always trying something new. Beans, any kind of beans, pureed, thinned with olive oil (or oil from sardine or anchovy fillets) and/or a bit of water makes a great spread. Better for you and less fattening than high ocatane mayo, which is the only kind worth eating. Definitely will try this.

  2. Can you believe I haven’t ordered Rancho Gordos yet??? Shocking, I know. They look amazing to cook with. I must reward myself with a holiday gift!

  3. RG beans are *awesome* no doubt. They made us rethink beans entirely.

    I passed through the fires on Saturday here in northeast OC and Riverside County. It was devastating watching houses burn and the flames lick the freeway, which closed about an hour after we drove through. Harsh.

  4. I have to say I rarely cook with beans, but those look gorgeous! Though my first though was that the picture on the bag looked kinda scary 🙂

  5. I need to get some of those beans, I’m seeing them all over! The way you cooked them sounds so good.
    What a view you have Lori Lynn, I could never get tired of looking at that beautiful ocean!!

  6. Rancho Gordo is the best— hands down an cotija cheese. I live next door to a mexican cheese shop that makes homemade cotija. SO good…can’t wait to try this recipe

  7. There just aren’t enough recipes for beans on food blogs! Thanks for sharing the bean name, I’m new to them too. And I’ll definitely be checking out the Legume Love Affair.

  8. First of all, congratulations on the FB/24 gig in October. Literally hysterical. Hopefully no one threw out their back dancing. I was looking for Don Ho (found him:)…Never heard of a yellow eyed pea, cool beans (pun was intended).

    –Marc

  9. Oh, wow! This looks terrific! Never had this before. Lovely photos. Yes, my prayers go out to those affected by the fire, as well.

    Paz

  10. Anon – sardine or anchovy oil??? That is brilliant!

    Hi Lori – oh, I couldn’t stop myself, I bought lots of different kinds. I am sure you will have a heyday too!

    Hi Melissa – heartbreaking isn’t it? And scary.

    Hi Pam – I love the variety.

    Hi Diana – haha, yea, kind of edgy. They are definitely doing something right in the marketing department over at RG, wildly successful.

    Hi Cynthia – good question (I don’t know).

    Hi Mikky and Marie- I am fortunate to have such a nice drive to and from work.

    Hi MLV – next door to a cheese shop??? I would be in heaven. Lucky you!

    Thank. You. Maria.

    How nice of you Mikky!

    Hi Kirstin – Susan’s Legume Love was a fabulous idea, and now it is a monthly event!

    Hi Marc – thanks, a good time was had by all. We liked themed dinners over here.

    Hi Paz – thank you. And beans with garlic, olive oil and salsa verde is an easy winner.

  11. Dear Lori
    The preprations is great..its a process,looking at the ingredients and you have made it nicely. The yellow eye beans looks a great recipe and it was nice to know that Nancy Silverton’s book ‘A Twist of the Wrist’ was your source of inspiration.Nice pictures, as usual.

  12. The beans sound great.

    This fire was the worst! So many people lost their home. We were not evacuated but I was mentally preparing. We are very very close and have been evacuated twice before. This time my parents, who had my daughter for the afternoon, could not get up here and she had to stay all night. Which was fun for her so not a big deal.

  13. Beans are so delicious and so healthy at that!

    Since I moved to Vienna, I have gotten to know what they call here “Käferbohne” (I checked Wikipedia, apparently scarlett runner beans, phaseolus coccineus is their latin name). These are huge beans, of a beautiful eggplant color, and they taste almost sweet, reminiscent of chestnuts. Have you ever cooked with them? Austrians like to boil them and prepare a salad, with onions and Styrian pumpkin seed oil.

  14. Such beautiful sunsets…we’re all bracing ourselves here for the onslaught of the dry summer heat and, naturally, the fires that accompany it.

    Those beans look gorgeous. I would love to get my hands on some Rancho Gordo products. Alas, our customs laws are incredibly strict…still, I can admire yours, no?

  15. I discovered Rancho Gordo beans at the Farmer’s Market in SF while on a short vacation. I bought these beauties and was told to just boil them with onion and garlic. I did add a piece of ham. We were in heaven. Now I am an online buyer.

    A few weeks ago I was able to hear Steve Sando speak at the Los Angeles Central Library with the Culinary Historians of Southern California. He spoke about his passion to preserve heirloom beans and how he travels all over to discover varieties he does not have and then to try them out.

    Who would have thought that what was once considered “a poor man’s food” would come to have such a huge following in today’s society!

    Thanks for the recipe, I will try it!
    Patricia Edie

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