| It's not a gas-free bean like the manteca bean, but the | | | | Whether or not the tale of discovery is entirely factual, |
| Rocky Mountains' Anasazi bean comes close. | | | | the Anasazi bean, also known as the Appaloosa bean, |
| Having a mottled white and maroon coat reminiscent | | | | Aztec bean (after the New Mexico town near the |
| of a purple Appaloosa pony, this bean has none of the | | | | location of its discovery, or cave bean (referring to the |
| slightly toxic tannins found in the much better known | | | | cave in which the first specimens were found) cooks |
| pinto and white beans, and much less of the | | | | in about 2/3 the time of a pinto bean to a creamy pink. |
| gas-inducing lectins found in better known beans. | | | | Use this versatile legume wherever you would use |
| Anasazi beans have been cultivated in the American | | | | pintos in Southwestern cuisine. Be sure to pick through |
| southwest for at least 1,500 years. An often-repeated | | | | the beans to remove any grit, gravel, or broken pieces, |
| story has it that a research team from UCLA was | | | | and also soak them in approximately one quart/one |
| looking for fossil evidence of pygmy elephants in the | | | | liter of water for every cup/120 grams of beans you |
| Four Corners area when they came upon a | | | | prepare. Drain the soaking water and rinse before |
| centuries-old pot containing ancient beans. When the | | | | cooking thoroughly. Never eat raw Anasazi beans. |
| researchers took the seeds to the lab, so the story | | | | And if you can't find them at your local store, you can |
| goes, the fifteen centuries-old legumes sprouted! | | | | find them at The New Mexican Connection. |