6 Bean Leaves Recipes: Bean Leaf Pesto +More

 

Using every part of the plant has become a quest for me.   Normally, I grow beans to dry them so by the time the beans are ready to harvest the leaves looks awful and shriveled up.  However, when you harvest green beans or edamame, the leaves look amazing.   Once they are harvested they do not produce any more so I can use the leaves.

Note, even if you don’t grow edamame, you could easily harvest some of the leaves from any of your bean plants.  It won’t hurt the plant.  Here is how to harvest fava bean leaves.  The rules seem to apply to all bean leaves.

Back to the edamame plants!  So, as I stared at these beautiful leaves, all I could think of what can I use them for?  Here are some recipes I adapted from the internet and my own recipes:

1.  Roasted Bean Leaves

I rave about my broccoli or cauliflower leaf recipe.   It is my go to recipe for any leaf including radish, turnip, and now bean leaves.  Boy is it easy  The recipe consists of  tamari, garlic, and sesame oil.  Be sure to read it.

Side Notes:

1.  When you use broccoli, cauliflower, or any other brassica leaf, the recipe can stand alone without the addition of broccoli or cauliflower.  With bean leaves, you need vegetables, more garlic, or more oil since the leaves are pretty bland.

2.  Be sure to wash the leaves before using.  I found eggs on the underside of the leaves.  Using Karen of ecokaren’s advice, I soaked them in vinegar and water for about 15 minutes to kill the eggs.  Then I washed the leaves well.  (She is my #1 source for any of my cooking issues.)

2.  Bean Leaf Pesto

Without a doubt, making pesto with the leaves was the yummiest way to eat the leaves.  The pesto was outstanding! I adapted the recipe from My Pantry Shelf 

Recipe:

2 cups bean leaves, stems removed

1/4 cup walnuts, toasted  (Instructions here.)

1/4 cup organic Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup cold pressed, organic olive oil

2 Tablespoons lemon juice or juice of one lemon.  (Don’t forget to keep the lemon peel.  See here for uses.)

1 garlic clove or 2 garlic cloves saute.  (Some people can’t handle raw garlic like Hubs, so I cook it a little in a skillet with a little bit of olive oil.)

1/4 teaspoon salt  (I use this salt since it is lower in sodium)

freshly pepper to taste

Put everything but the oil  in a food processor and puree.  Drizzle the oil in the pesto mixture as the food processor is running.

Then refrigerate for later use.  {Or eat it up all right then and there.}

You will be licking your chops.

Other ideas:

• 3.   Chef Recipes from the Tasting Table:  Charred Beans with Bean-Leaf Pesto
• 4.   The Prepped Chef’s Presto…it’s Pesto! 
• 5.    The Congo cookbook:  Saka-Madesu (Cassava Leaves & Beans).   Use this recipe and substitute using bean leaves.  You might have to alter your spices since I found the leaves to be a little bland.
• 6.  Use the bean leaves rather than the sorrel in this sorrel soup recipe.

*Spoiler alert*

I just harvested my sweet potato, horseradish  and radish leaves.  Recipes coming up.

Join the Conversation:

How would you use bean leaves in a recipe?

 

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