Good Mother Stallard Bean Stew

There are recipes that require your full attention — the ones that demand constant stirring, precise timing, a watchful eye. And then there are recipes like this one, where you essentially throw a handful of beautiful ingredients into a pot, walk away, and come back to something that tastes like it took all day and a culinary degree to pull off. This Good Mother Stallard Bean Stew is firmly in the second category, and it might be one of my favorite things we've ever made at Foodocracy.

It's the kind of meal that makes you feel like you have your life together. One pot. No soaking required. A broth so rich and deeply flavored that you'll want to drink it straight from the bowl — and honestly, no one is going to stop you.

What Are Good Mother Stallard Beans?

Good Mother Stallard is a pole bean with a name as distinctive as its appearance. The dried beans are stunning — deep burgundy and cream, swirled together like a tiny work of art — and that beauty doesn't disappear when they cook. The broth that develops as they simmer turns a rich, almost mahogany color, and the flavor is something else entirely: meaty, complex, and deeply savory in a way that is hard to believe there's no meat in the pot.

The variety has been grown in American gardens for generations, passed down through families and seed savers who recognized something special worth keeping. Like so many heirloom beans, Good Mother Stallard nearly disappeared as industrial agriculture pushed gardeners and farmers toward higher-yielding, blander commodity varieties. The fact that we can still grow and eat them today is thanks entirely to the dedicated seed saving community that refused to let them go.

Good Mother Stallard is a larger bean with a creamy, almost buttery texture when fully cooked. They hold their shape beautifully rather than turning to mush, which makes them ideal for a stew like this one where you want the beans themselves to be the star. And star they are.

Why This Stew Works

The genius of this recipe is its restraint. There are no canned tomatoes, no stock from a carton, no long list of spices competing for attention. Just beans, olive oil, a few aromatics, water, and time. What you get in return is a broth that tastes like it has been simmering for days, built entirely from the beans themselves and the quiet magic of a whole head of garlic slowly softening in the pot.

The head of garlic deserves a special mention. You slice the top off to expose the cloves, drop it cut side down into the pot, and by the time the beans are done it has transformed into something impossibly sweet and silky. Squeeze those cloves right into the broth before you serve it and you'll understand immediately why this is the move.

Kombu — dried seaweed — is the other secret weapon here. If you've read our Ultimate Guide to Cooking Heirloom Beans, you already know about kombu. The glutamates in it deepen the flavor of everything it touches, and the amino acids help soften the beans' outer skin for a better texture. It's nature's MSG and it makes a real difference.

A Note On Simplicity

I want to be honest with you: when I first started cooking heirloom beans I thought I needed to do more. More spices, more aromatics, more steps. What I've learned over years of cooking these varieties is that the opposite is true. The beans have flavor that most grocery store beans simply don't have, and the best thing you can do is get out of their way. Salt the water generously, add your kombu, and let them do the work.

This stew is proof of that philosophy. The kale at the end adds color, nutrition, and a little earthiness that balances the richness of the broth. A drizzle of really good olive oil at the end ties everything together. That's it. That's the recipe.

Good Mother Stallard Bean Stew

Pick through and rinse one pound of dry Good Mother Stallard beans, then add them to a large heavy pot with ¼ cup olive oil, half a yellow onion, a whole head of garlic with the top sliced off (cut side down), 2 thickly sliced carrots, a strip of kombu, a bay leaf, 2 fresh thyme sprigs, and a tablespoon of kosher salt. Cover with 6-8 cups of water — enough to come about 2 inches above everything in the pot. Bring to a boil over high heat for 5 minutes, then reduce to a gentle simmer, cover with a tight lid, and cook until the beans are silky and tender, about 90 minutes to 2 hours. Fish out the onion, bay leaf, thyme stems, and kombu — but leave the garlic in and squeeze those soft, sweet cloves right into the broth. Add a big bunch of washed, stemmed, and chopped kale, press it down into the pot, cover, and let it wilt for about 5 minutes. Ladle into bowls and finish with a generous drizzle of your best olive oil. Crusty bread for the broth is non-negotiable.

Good Mother Stallard beans are available through our Heirloom Bean and Grain Club

Kale and Good Mother Stallard Stew

Rated 5.0 stars by 1 users

• Share on Twitter
• Share on Facebook
• Share on Pinterest
• Share on Whatsapp

Category

Soup

Cuisine

American

Prep Time

15 minutes

Cook Time

2 hours

This one-pot Good Mother Stallard bean stew proves that heirloom beans need almost no help. Rich, silky broth, zero fuss, and a bean worth knowing about.

Author:

Lisa Riznikove

Ingredients

• 1 pounds Good Mother Stallard beans, dry

• ⅓ cup olive oil, plus more for serving

• Half yellow onion, unpeeled

• 1 pieces head of garlic, top sliced off
• 2 pieces large carrots, thickly sliced

• 1 four inch strip of kombu

• 1 bay leaf

• 3-4 fresh thyme sprigs

• 1 tablespoons kosher salt

• 8 cups water

• large bunch kale, washed, stemmed, and chopped

View Cart (0) Checkout

Directions

1. Rinse  and pick through 1 pounds Good Mother Stallard beans discarding any stones. Keep any splits, they make good broth.

2. Add the beans to a large heavy pot along with the olive oil, onion, garlic, carrots, kombu, bay leaf,  thyme sprigs, and 1 tablespoons kosher salt. Pour in 7-8 cups of water — enough to cover everything by at least 2 inches.

3. Bring to a boil for 10 minutes then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer, cover with a tight lid, and cook until the beans are silky and tender — about 90 minutes to 2 hours. Check occasionally to make sure the beans are still covered with liquid, adding a splash of water if needed.

4. Discard the onion half, bay leaf, thyme stems. You can keep the kombu in, chopping it if needed or discard. Give the broth a taste and adjust salt if needed. The garlic head can stay in — squeeze those soft, sweet cloves right into the stew.

5. Add the kale to the pot, pressing it down into the hot broth. Cover and let it wilt for about 5 minutes

6. Ladle into bowls and finish each one with a generous drizzle of your best olive oil. Crusty bread for the broth is non-negotiable.