Fassolia Hantres Giahni or Barbounofassoula (Stewed Borlotti Beans)

Hantres pronounced HAN-tress, also called barbounofassoula, is a type of kidney bean with a pink speckled skin that turns brown when cooked.

The name hantres in Greek,  means beads. 

When these are fresh and green they are called fassolia barbounia (runner beans) Phaseolous Coccineus which are a hybrid of Phaseolous Vulgaris (the common bean).

When they are ripe their pods become beige and red and inside the beans are off-white with red markings.  However, when cooked they loose this lovely colour.

This is a recipe from last summer and I've been wanting to post it for a long time but I wasn't sure of the name of these beans in English.

After asking for help on Facebook,  I found out that they are called Cranberry Beans or Borlotti beans.

Origin

As I was a bit confused about the name, I continued google searching to find out what the English name is for these beans I found a couple of different names.

According to Wikipedia, cranberry beans originated in Colombia as the cargamanto.   The bean is a medium-large, tan or hazelnut-colored bean, splashed with red/black to magenta streaks. A new cranberry bean variety, Crimson, is light tan and speckled maroon, and is also resistant to viruses and has a high yield.

Borlotti beans, also known as Roman beans or romano beans (not to be confused with Italian flat beans, a green bean also called "romano bean"), are a variety of cranberry bean bred in Italy to have a thicker skin. It is very popular in Italian, Portuguese and Greek cuisine.

Pinto beans look the same as cranberry and borlotti beans, but differ in taste.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here is a picture of the beans for you to have your own conclusions.

I am still continuing my diet and I am now minus 13 kilos.  This is one of the dishes I enjoy as they are delicious, with a meatier texture than common beans and a good source of protein and fibre (see Borlotti.com).

Update:  11 June, 2013

Hantres Giahni (stewed Borlotti beans)

At the end of summer, these beans are quite cheap, so last summer, I bought some and after cleaning and washing them, I drained them and divided them into portions for 2 persons.  

I stored them in the deep freezer and today when I was cleaning the deep freezer, I found the last batch. which I cooked, in a slightly different way.

I boiled the beans for ten minutes and drained them.  

Then I added olive oil to a small pot and sauteed 2 green onions.  I added a crushed roasted garlic and the beans which I mixed for two minutes.  

In a food processor I pureed 5 small fresh ripe tomatoes, which I added with an organic vegetable bouillon, salt and pepper and about ¼ cup water, just to clean the food processor from leftover tomato.  

Afer boiling point, I lowered the heat and let them simmer for half an hour.  I turned the heat off and mixed in 2 tablespoon fresh dill.

Delicious!
 

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Fassolia Ηantres Giahni or Barbounofassoula (Stewed Borlotti Beans)

Yield: 5

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 55 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 55 minutes

Hantres also called barbounofassoula, is a type of kidney bean with a pink speckled skin that turns brown when cooked.

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Ingredients

• 1 kilo shelled borlotti or cranberry beans (about 2 kilos with their shell on)
• 300 grams of ampelofassoula (fresh black eyed beans) (optional)
• 1 medium red onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 3 - 4 green onions, finely chopped
• 1 / 3 cup olive oil
• Salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• ½ cup parsley, finely chopped
• 4 ripe tomatoes, pureed in blender together with 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• Vegetable stock or water

Instructions

1. Add the barbounofasoula (borlotti beans) and mix Sauté the onions and garlic until translucent and add the green beans (ampelofassoula) and mix them for a few minutes.
2. well.
3. Add the tomatoes, salt and pepper and vegetable stock or water to cover beans.
4. Bring to a boil, lower heat and close with the lid. Simmer for about an hour.
5. Shortly before turning off the heat, add the parsley and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.

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