Cranberry beans with tomato sauce

A few weeks ago I got cranberry beans from the farmers market.  They were out of my favorite cannelini beans and I asked the guy at the stand which ones he likes and he recommended the cranberries.

One thing I notice about cranberry beans is that they cook much faster than other beans.  The cooking time of soaked cranberry beans is on par with lentils which is really short for a full-sized bean.

So as with other beans I make a huge batch of them – basically what amounts to a full pot in my rice cooker – and then I have them in the refrigerator to reheat.

But I notice when reheating them (in the wok) that they tend to be kind of dry.  Over the past few days I’ve been thinking about what to do about their dryness when cooked.  It’s like they need some kind of sauce or something.

So tonight I was thinking about what to use with them when I thought of trying tomato sauce. Wow!  Cranberry beans are really amazing with tomato sauce!

If you’re thinking of making a pasta dish consider having beans like cranberry beans instead – they are much healthier and the flavor is excellent!