Steve Sando’s bean revolution advances with a new cookbook showing their versatility

AP Entertainment Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Some food lovers celebrate vegetables or rice or chicken. Steve Sando celebrates beans. He’s found a flourishing national appetite for his dried heritage beans. The beans are native to the Americas and he loves their flavor, variety and even the broth they kick off. Sando’s latest cookbook, “The Bean Book,” shows off the little guys’ versatility in recipes like Cheesy Black Bean and Corn Skillet Bake or a Clay-Baked Cod Gratin with Onions and White Beans. Beans are the ultimate slow food. Sando recommends soaking them for 2 to 6 hours. Then saute some garlic or onion in a pot, add the beans and simmer for at least 2 more hours.