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Coco de paimpol - Matt’s on a mission…

Chrisby Chris, 1 yr, 8 m ago in Recipes
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Matt is on a mission to introduce the world to a much overlooked little bean - coco de paimpol - (here's an opportunity to practise your Francais... wikipedia...)  He keeps buying sacks of them but not enough customers have yet discovered the true joys of this little legume.  So here are some suggestions to tempt you...

These beans are in season from late August to early November and are known in France as ‘demi-sec’ or ‘half dry’ beans. Coco de paimpolThe first time you see them you think they’re really grim looking French beans, but when shelled they’re a beautiful pearly white.Like little vegetarian pearls!

The following recipe is a simple and delicious way of preparing ‘half dry’ beans as a vegetable side dish although they can simply be boiled for about 30 minutes and added to soups, stews, salads, pasta etc. When you are testing them to see if they are cooked check the skin of the bean feels tender as well as the inside. This is because the skin can toughen up slightly on cooling. Add salt after the beans are cooked.

Ingredients

 

  • 750g beans, 
  • 2 or 3 fleshy tomatoes (plum or beef),
  • 2 bay leaves (or try a little fresh sage, thyme or oregano),
  • 3 tbsp olive oil,
  • salt and pepper

Instructions

  1. Shell the beans into a pan and just cover with water.
  2. Add the tomatoes, herbs and olive oil, replace the lid.
  3. Simmer gently for about 35 minutes or until the beans are cooked but check the pan occasionally as you may need to add a little more water.
  4. Hook out the tomato skins and stir in the salt and pepper. Almost all the liquid should have been absorbed or evaporated to leave a sauce of emulsified oil and tomato. 
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