Greatest Hits 2022: Lablab—An Ancient Crop and Stunning Vine
Photography by Marie Viljoen.
Greatest Hits 2022: Each day this week, we’re republishing the most popular posts of the year, in case you missed them the first time around. But Stateside, the erroneous presumption persists that lablab beans cannot be eaten because they are toxic.
A hummingbird feeds on lablab flowers on our Brooklyn terrace. Bannabees is one of over 100 common names for lablab, in a multitude of languages—a sure sign of a plant’s usefulness.
Lablab pods against a September sky in New York City. My own lablab revelation happened about 12 years ago, after a late-summer stroll through the diverse, immigrant-rich neighborhood of Kensington in Brooklyn, where boundary fences sometimes double as food-trellises.
Young seeds in lablab pods. I learned that lablab is not just a pretty plant but an ancient crop: Archaeo-botanical finds in India, dating prior to 1500 BC, offer tantalizing clues to lablab’s culinary journey from Africa, where its use and cultivation appear to be in decline.
Lablab is beautiful, water-wise, and edible, and makes great cut flowers and pods.
The fresher the bean the less pre-prep is required. The youngest pods can be cooked whole.
Sliced young lablab pods. But it is in terms of human nutrition, that it shines: Lablab beans are high in protein and carbohydrates, amino acids and fatty acids, and minerals like calcium and iron.
Mature lablab beans in early fall. Flower buds form as days grow shorter, with abundant pods appearing in late summer through fall.
Lablab Pod Coconut Curry (Vegan)
Taking inspiration from Southeast Asian-style curries, I make this soothing bowlful with immature lablab pods. When it begins to sizzle add the lablab beans and stir. Add the fish sauce and a Tablespoonful of lime juice.
Lablab Beans with Berbere and Cumin
In the spirit of the cumin-scented North African chickpea stew called lablabi (the name is so tantalizingly close) and in homage to the East African use of legumes in earthy casseroles (think Ethiopian shimbra wat, and misr wat), I developed this spicy lablab dish, where the heat and fragrance of berbere are essential.
Bring a potful of water to a boil and add the soaked beans. Now add the cooked lablab beans. Bring to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes.