Beans With Fruit And Vegetables
(Westfalisches Blindhuhn)
What You Need:
1 quart cold water
1 cup dried white beans, preferably Great Northern or navy beans
½ pound slab of lean bacon cut lengthwise into 3 strips and crosswise into halves
1½ pounds cooking apples and
1½ pounds firm ripe pears, peeled, cored and cut into ¼-inch wedges, or use 3 pounds of cooking apples, peeled, cored and cut into ¼-inch wedges
1 pound fresh green string beans, trimmed, and cut into 2-inch lengths
1 cup coarsely diced scraped carrots
3 medium-sized boiling potatoes (about 1 pound), peeled and cut into ½-inch dice
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
How To Cook:
1. In a heavy 4- to 6-quart saucepan or soup pot, bring 1 quart of water to a bubbling boil over high heat. Drop in the dried beans and boil uncovered for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the beans soak for 1 hour. Then add the bacon, return the beans to a boil, and reduce the heat to low. Partially cover the pan and simmer as slowly as possible for about 1 hour, or until the beans are barely tender.
2. Add the apples, pears, green beans, carrots, potatoes, salt to taste and a few grindings of pepper to the beans. Partially cover the pan and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes longer, or until the vegetables and fruit are tender and the beans fully cooked. Taste for seasoning and serve hot from a deep heated bowl.
