u/lick-a-lot-a-pus

Chaos Kitchen Laboratory strikes again.

Built around Mayacobas, buttery limas, black beans, farro, and quinoa with charred corn, orange pepper, cucumber, jicama, asparagus, red onion, and cilantro.

The dressing wandered off the rails in the best way:

roasted garlic

ajvar

white miso

sherry vinegar

lime

smoked paprika

almond butter

a touch of date syrup

The biggest surprise was the charred corn. It brought just enough sweetness to tie into the smoky baked beans without making the salad taste sweet.

I have a whole write up of this "chaos experiment"

A month or two ago I was the stereotypical "beans are what you cook with a leftover ham bone" guy.

Somewhere along the way that turned into, "How can I make beans the star?"

Tonight's experiment was homemade falafel made from soaked dried chickpeas, served mezze-style instead of in a pita.

Served it as a side to a fried chicken sandwich.... Mission accomplished I think the falafel won the plate.

The supporting cast:

• Homemade BeHummus (mostly chickpeas with creamy lima beans blended in for an absurdly smooth texture)

•. Smear of ajvar for that smoky biter roasted red pepper hit

• Homemade roasted garlic, lemon, and dill labneh thinned into a drizzle

• Olive oil, sumac, flaky salt, parsley, and toasted sesame

The biggest surprise wasn't the falafel. It was how much the lima beans changed the hummus without changing its identity. It still tastes like hummus, just silkier.

What's your favorite thing to serve alongside falafel?

Or what's another bean dish that deserves the spotlight?

I'm on a mission to prove beans deserve more than being the obligatory pan of baked beans at every BBQ.

My goal is to show up with a bean dish that has people asking for the recipe before they even get to the burgers.

Here's where I need your help.

Lean into the chaos.

Don't just give me bean recipes. Tell me dishes you absolutely love that you think I should beanify. I'm looking for ideas where beans become the star instead of the sidekick.

Think outside the usual BBQ playbook. Hot, cold, smoked, grilled, Mediterranean, Mexican, Cajun, Ethiopian, Korean, Indian... I don't care.

What's a dish that makes you think, "You know what? That would actually be incredible with beans."

The weirder (within reason), the better. Half the fun is seeing if I can pull off

I think this might be my favorite bean salad I've made so far...

I've been on a mission to make beans the star of my meals instead of just the side dish. Every week I pick a different idea and ask myself, "How can I beanify this?"

This time the inspiration was esquites.

Not to recreate it, but to borrow the flavors: charred corn, lime, roasted garlic, cilantro, and a creamy dressing.

The base:

Mayacoba beans

Black beans (slightly undercooked on purpose for extra chew)

Chickpeas

Farro

Quinoa

Vegetables:

Cast iron charred corn

Blistered shishito peppers

Orange and green bell peppers

Cherry tomatoes

Green onions

A whole bunch of cilantro

For the dressing I wanted something creamy without using mayonnaise, so I blended together:

Labneh(thick Greek yogurt)

Olive oil

Lime juice

Sherry vinegar

A ridiculous amount of roasted garlic

A spoonful of the charred corn

Some of the blistered shishitos

A tiny drizzle of date molasses

Salt, pepper, smoked paprika, and cumin

Blending some of the vegetables into the dressing turned out to be one of the best decisions. Instead of just coating the salad, the dressing actually tastes like the salad.

The finished result is surprisingly light.

The mayacobas are creamy, the black beans and farro add a little chew, the quinoa holds everything together, the corn brings sweetness and smoky char, the peppers stay crisp, and every once in a while one of the shishitos reminds you that the "shishito lottery" is real. 😂

I almost added cotija and avocado, but after tasting it I left them out. They'd be good as optional garnishes, but honestly the salad didn't need them.

I'm really curious to see what this tastes like tomorrow after everything has had a chance to mingle in the fridge.

Has anyone else blended some of the main ingredients into the dressing like this? I think I may have stumbled onto a technique I'll be using in future bean salads.

Who wants a bowl?

If you like reading about my chaotic kitchen experiments let me know, I'll keep posting.

Update

Day 2 Tasted it anx added a little more lime, and a dash of chicken bullion powder. Might by my favorite salad I have made so far.

About a month ago I decided I wanted to eat more Mediterranean-style. Somewhere along the way I stopped asking "How can I eat beans?" and started asking "How can I make beans the star?"

This is one of the salads that came out of that experiment.

The lineup

Black beans

Chickpeas

Red kidney beans

Farro

Yellow bell pepper

Cherry tomatoes

Fresh mozzarella pearls

Fresh parsley

Fresh basil

Served over a handful of arugula and some diced chicken thighs

Dressing

I blended together:

Oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes

Fresh basil

Red wine vinegar

Lemon juice

Garlic

Dijon mustard

A little honey

Olive oil

Water to thin

Salt & pepper

The dressing ends up somewhere between a vinaigrette and a loose pesto. It clings to the beans instead of pooling in the bottom of the bowl.

What surprised me

The farro gives it a really satisfying chew, the mozzarella mellows out the acidity of the dressing, and the arugula adds just enough peppery bite to keep everything from tasting heavy.

The best part is that it actually gets better after sitting overnight. The beans soak up all that tomato-basil flavor without turning mushy.

I've somehow reached the point where I open the fridge hoping there's still bean salad left.

Who knew?

What interesting recipes have you tried or wanted to try?

I have become obsessed. I have a bean salad in my fridge pretty much at all times. Give me some dressing/combo or flavoring ideals. I have tried many, and hope for many more. Some of my favorites have been sundried tomato basil, Mexican street corn, and a Greek vinaigrette. Hit me with your best

About a month ago I accidentally discovered beans.

I grew up in a "there's a ham bone left over, guess we're making a pot of pintos" kind of house. Don't get me wrong, pintos and ham are fantastic. I just never realized beans could be... well... almost anything.

Fast forward a month and I've become completely obsessed.

It started with seeing videos about trying to eat beans once a day. Then it became, "How can I add beans to this dish?" Now it's, "How can I make beans the star of the dish?"

I've been buying every dried bean I can find locally. At the moment my fridge has at least seven deli containers full of cooked beans, grains, and whatever experiment came out of my latest kitchen session. My kitchen has officially earned the name Chaos Kitchen Laboratory.

It's not a pristine Instagram kitchen. There are probably dirty dishes just out of frame, random containers everywhere, and I'm absolutely making it up as I go. But I genuinely love experimenting with food.

So far I've beanified:

• Thai green coconut curry

• "Chile Roja Beanzole" (somewhere between pozole rojo and Texas red chili)

• Pizza beans

• Red beans and rice... except it also has limas, Mayacobas, and farro instead of rice

• Roasted garlic, mushroom, bean "farrotto" (risotto with farro)

• Dense bean salads (chimichurri, Greek, lemon oregano, sun-dried tomato basil, Parmesan garlic, dill, roasted garlic & lemon...)

• Shrimp with creamy garlic bean puree instead of grits

I'm looking for more classic or traditional dishes that could survive a healthy dose of beanification.

Not just recipes that already use beans. I mean dishes where beans become the star without losing the soul of the original.

Any cuisine. Any country. Sweet or savory. Weird is welcome.

If you've got an idea, throw it at me.

And if people actually enjoy watching these ridiculous experiments, I'd be happy to start documenting the Chaos Kitchen Laboratory with photos or short videos. I have a feeling this obsession is only getting started. 🫘

P.S.... I also have an obsession with strained greek yogurt. I have spent months tweaking my recipe

TL;DR

I made a bean ragout somewhere between Pozole and Texas red chili..🤤

I think I've accidentally become obsessed with beans.

For the last month or so I've been on a mission to make beans the star instead of the side dish. Not because I'm vegetarian (I'm definitely not), but because I'm trying to eat more Mediterranean-style without feeling like I'm giving anything up. I have gone from trying to eat beans everyday to "How can I make this with beans"

This weekend's experiment started as "I like Pozole, now how can I beanify it?

By the end it landed somewhere between pozole rojo, Texas red chili, and a thick bean ragout... so I'm just calling it Chili rojo Beanzole

The bean lineup:

- Mayacobas (the backbone)

- Large limas (they basically become creamy thickener)

- Chickpeas (because I had two quarts in the fridge begging for a purpose)

- Hominy (for chew)

For the chile base I used guajillos, pasillas, negros, and a couple árbol chiles. I toasted them, soaked them, then blended them with the soaking liquid, roasted garlic, one Medjool date, oregano, salt, and a little MSG.

I browned some beef hard, bloomed cumin, fried the chile paste in the rendered fat, then added homemade bean broth and let everything simmer before adding the beans.

The biggest surprise?

The limas.

I've decided large limas are the avocados of the bean world. They have about a 15-second window of perfection before they decide they'd rather be mashed than have a staring role. 😂

Instead of fighting that, I let them do it.

Finished each bowl with:

- Shredded cabbage

- Radishes

- Cilantro

- Green onion

- Cotija

- Homemade labneh(my other obsession) instead of crema

- Crispy roasted Mayacobas for crunch

The funny part is I have some flatbread I intended to eat with it... and completely forgot about it. The bowl just didn't need it.

I'm really finding that beans provide the same creamy richness I used to chase with heavy cream and cheese, but in a completely different way. I'm not trying to make vegetarian versions of classic dishes. I'm trying to find flavor combinations that work and then rebuild them so the beans become the main event instead of the side.

I'm already looking forward to tomorrow because, let's be honest... bean dishes always seem to taste even better on day two(I made enough for days 3 and 4 as well 🤣)

I'd love to hear what regional flavor profiles you all think translate well to bean-forward cooking. I'm building a whole "Bean Lab" notebook of ideas.

I've done several cold bean salads, a roasted garlic and mushroom bean "risotto" a super beanified red beans and rice, a thai green bean curry. And a few others.