How Have You Bean?

Beans are definitely not the most glamorous food item out there. Just a plain and affordable legume, accessible all year round. There are no fancy dishes centred around beans, and it most certainly isn't on top of the list when it comes to fine dining. Still, some bean dishes play a major role in Croatian life, as some holidays and social rituals are unthinkable without it.

For example, take the good ol' bean stew. With sausages or buncek (smoked pork shank), preferably. For a majority of weekend hikers on Medvednica Mountain, it's their main incentive, their comfort and reward after an exhausting climb to one of the mountain huts. When you say, “Let’s go for a hike to Sljeme”, a nice bowl of the traditional bean stew is probably the first thing I visualize. Also, in the days before the A1 motorway connecting Zagreb and Split, when I was a kid, it was normal for the long-awaited ride to the seaside to take some five or six hours. Therefore, it was inevitable to take a break and have a lunch somewhere halfway down, in one of those old-fashioned canteen-style restaurants. And guess what? Bean stew with sausage it was, again. Not always, but often enough. See, even though a bean stew is really nothing special, when it is regularly connected with fun things like hiking on the mountain or travelling to the seaside, it almost becomes mythical.

“Bean stew cooked on an open fire, very common at public events and festivals.” Image credit: Taste of Croatia

Or let’s take the public Labour Day celebration in Maksimir Park. Its highlight is a giant pot of hot bean stew, handed out for free until it’s gone. Don’t worry, we’re talking about thousands of portions. Unions, the historical fight for labour rights, that’s all fine, but for generations of Zagrebians, the first thing that comes to mind if you mention the Labour Day - free bean stew. This is probably one of few traditions that started out during the communist times and kept on, to everyone’s satisfaction, without any ideological connotations. Apart from the beloved stew, bean salad is another example of this humble vegetable making a mark. It’s just cooked beans (usually trešnjevac or brown bean varieties), chopped onion, vinegar and oil. In Zagreb, it has to be pumpkin seed oil. Admittedly, this is a salad that is always available at mediocre canteen lunches, in its worst form, but its cult status comes from the delicious homemade version, regularly served at barbecue parties and family meals for holidays. Especially during winter, when fresh vegetable is not really around that much. When I picture a big Christmas lunch, with a soup, francuska salata, roast turkey with mlinci and all that, there simply has to be a bowl of bean salad.

“Young bean stew, one of our favourite late summer dishes.” Image credit: Taste of Croatia

And speaking of beans, late summer is the favourite time for all its fans. It’s the season of beautiful young beans, still fresh and tender, coming straight from the pod, in all sizes and colours. Markets are full of them. And the best way to celebrate the life cycle of beans is to make another stew. But this is called young bean stew and it’s the embodiment of Mother Nature’s summer generosity. Not as heavy and thick as the regular bean stew, also lighter in colour, more red than brown. With more fresh vegetables which are also in season, like tomatoes and bell peppers. Diced bacon is a must. Fresh herbs, too. Naturally, every smart person will make a stash of cleaned young beans in the freezer to last throughout the autumn and winter, as a reminder of the last warm and sunny days of the year.

Header image credit: Taste of Croatia

Author: Taste of Croatia