Dragon Tongue Beans

Here's a photo of the beautiful Dragon Tongue beans that we are getting at the farmers market now. I have read about these beans for years and seen them many times in seed catalogs, but this is my first experience with them. And I'm in love. Territorial Seed says, "Dragon Tongue is probably the best multipurpose bean available." Amen. This bean tastes better than any I have had in the last 25 years.

Dragon Tongue is an old French variety called Dragon Langerie that was apparently re-established in the Netherlands. It's a moderately long flat yellow (wax) bean with purple streaks and mottling that disappears when cooked. This very tender stringless bean is excellent raw and as a fresh bean and couldn't be simpler to prepare. I am waiting for the fall to try it out as a shell bean, for which it has an excellent reputation.

We are currently bias cutting the bean into small pieces and sautéeing it in clarified butter with shallots to order. Done this way, the bean is incredibly delicious.

They are available now at the Freight Station Farmers Market from Mark Bishop of Master's Touch Plants & Produce from Berkeley Springs, WV. Mark tells me that they are a very prolific bush bean and that we can continue to look forward to them for a while longer.