Mexican bean pods

[Doodad]

At the carneceria yesterday they had these bean pods, but the guy at the counter could not tell me what they were. He called them guajilla or similar and said you put them in salsa? They are a long green pod with flat beans inside that you pop out. What are they and how do you cook them?

Thanks.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

Well, Guajillo are a type of chili..... The broad bean you're describing sounds like what we call Habas, which makes them roughly equivalent to a Fava or Lima bean.

I can only speak for Ecaudor, but they're generally shelled, boiled or steamed, then skinned and served with a bit of butter and salt along with mote as the side to Chugchucara or other artery-clogging piggy goodness. I'm sure, however, if you looked for Haba or Fava bean recipes you'd be inundated.

[Doodad]

They were smaller pods than fava. The bean inside would be about the size of a baby lima. The pod was maybe six to eight inches long.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

White beans inside, or green? If they're white, then it makes more sense that he was saying they're for salsas - those would be Chochos (I don't know the Mexican term for them), which are actually Lupine beans. Chochos are boiled and then skinned and blendered into salsas to reduce heat and add body.

Edited May 8, 2011 by Panaderia Canadiense (log)

[Doodad]

I don't know the color inside as I did not buy them.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

What colour/shape/size were the pods, then? Were they fuzzy or smooth?

Without knowing that, and also without the interior colour of the beans, they could be almost anything - especially given the numerous varieties of broad bean-type-things available in Latin America.

[Doodad]

They were very flat pods about and inch wide, 8 inches long and the inside bean would be flat and oblong about 3/4 inch long. They were not fuzzy, but not smooth either. Kind of rough textured. The carneceria was called San Miguel if that helps with some local dialect naming.

Can you give me a salsa recipe that incorporates beans? I imagine as you said they are shelled and boiled. The lupine beans you mentioned look very similar.

[Doodad]

Like this:

http://www.pattayadailynews.com/images_feature/006_en/0000000282/p9.jpg

[Panaderia Canadiense]

OK, I'd call those Haba Plano (Flat Broadbean) if I was buying them in the market here, but beyond that I couldn't really help you with local naming.

The best salsa recipe I've had that incorporates Habas like the ones you show is as follows (and I'm estimating amounts here - $1 for you and $1 for me won't buy the same amounts). This is an Ecuadorian recipe from Loja province, and it makes the most fantastic salsa ever for pork and chicken.

1 lb of broad beans, shelled

1 lb of tomatillos, husked

1/2 lb of uvillas (cape gooseberries), husked

1/2 lb of white beans (frejol blanco), husked

a full handfull of rosemary

2 shallots, minced

1 small Ambassador type mago (these are fibreless golden mangoes about the size of a baseball)

2 aji peppers (Aji Amarillo if possible, if not use Aji Macho), minced or chopped fairly finely.

Boil the beans together with a pinch of salt, then cool them under cold water to loosen the skins, and husk them. Throw these in the blender along with the tomatillos and uvillas, the shallots, and the juice of the mango (mush it between your palms, then open a small hole in the skin and squeeze). Blend until fairly creamy. Now add the rosemary and blend again. Remove from the blender and stir in the minced Aji, and allow to rest for at least 1 hour.

If you want chunks, you can also chop a few of the tomatillos and uvillas coarsely and add them along with the aji at the end.

[kalypso]

Those are guajes. They grow on trees and indeed you do open up the pod, clean out seeds, grind/mash them up and add them to things like salas and other sauces. They have a garlic-like flavor.

Guaxmole is probably the most familiar dish using guajes. Click on the link for a recipe for guaxmole.

Edited May 8, 2011 by kalypso (log)

[Doodad]

Thanks to you both! Yeah he said guaje. That recipe sounds awesome Panaderia, it will happen.

[djyee100]

I've seen these at the market, but I haven't tried them. Now I will.

I'm unclear about how to prep them. Let's say you start with the whole pod. Remove the beans from the pod? Then boil them? Then what? Should the beans/seeds be husked again, like you do with favas?

[Panaderia Canadiense]

Starting with the pods, open 'em up and shuck out the beans. Boil these with a bit of salt, then quench them in cold water to loosen the husks, and peel the husks off. After that, what you do with them is up to you - they can go in salsas, salads, or be eaten as a side dish tossed in a bit of herb butter (very tasty).

Generally, that's how all broad beans are prepared. The husks over the actual endocarp tend to be bitter, and so they're generally removed after the beans have been boiled, but it's a personal taste thing. If you harvest Fava beans really really young, the bitterness hasn't had time to develop in the husks and they can be eaten as is.

The experience I have with tree-type beans like the Guaje is primarily for dessert fruits (Guabo, Machetero, etc) and on those the husks are the edible part.... However, as they're referenced for being sort of garlic-y, I'd treat them as I would regular broad beans.

Edit - a good spellar is me!

Edited May 8, 2011 by Panaderia Canadiense (log)

[kalypso]

I've seen these at the market, but I haven't tried them. Now I will.

I'm unclear about how to prep them. Let's say you start with the whole pod. Remove the beans from the pod? Then boil them? Then what? Should the beans/seeds be husked again, like you do with favas?

Djyee, if you click on the "guaxmole" link I posted above it will take you to a a recipe showing how to work with the seeds. In addition to the method suggested by PC, you can also simply toast them in a pan like you would pepitas (pumpkin seeds) or nuts.