No Hill of Beans

Chef Adam Hayes, Canyon Kitchen 

Kitchen Philosophy: “Conventional is not my style, but I want to keep traditions alive.”

Current Culinary Experiment: “Fermentation.”

Where to find the best beans: “Don’t be scared. Grow your own!”

Green Bean “do”: “Try different varieties from farmers markets.”

Green Bean “don’t”: “Once you pick them, don’t let them lay around. They’re not as crisp.”

It’s a blindingly bright morning at Canyon Kitchen in Cashiers. In the garden behind the restaurant, rows of beans stretch toward the sun and curl around stalks of heirloom corn. Chef Adam Hayes reaches up to pick a pod, cradling it in his hands.

These beans were foreign to Hayes when he arrived in Western North Carolina in 2009. Born in Asheboro, Hayes worked at restaurants in Charlotte and Greensboro before becoming executive chef of Grand Bohemian Hotel’s Red Stag Grill in Asheville. After a brief stint in Georgia, he moved back to WNC to take the helm at Canyon Kitchen at Lonesome Valley.

Hayes soon began exploring traditional Appalachian ingredients, including the heirloom beans growing in the garden today. “I had no idea what a greasy bean was,” he says with a grin. He quickly learned to love this Appalachian favorite, which isn’t actually greasy at all. This type of heirloom bean is smooth-skinned and fuzz-free, giving it a shiny appearance that inspired the name. There are more than 30 known varieties of greasy beans that grow in Southern Appalachia, and trading and sharing the seeds remain a common practice.

Although greasy beans are labor-intensive (each pod has strings that must be removed), they are a staple on Canyon Kitchen’s summer menu. Hayes says nearly everyone on staff, from dishwashers to hostesses, has a sack of beans by their side in the summer, removing the strings during spare moments.

Hayes puts his family to work, too. His 12-year-old daughter helps take the strings off greasy beans alongside her mother and grandmother each summer. Then the family gathers around the canning pot to put up beans for winter meals. “Our tradition now, at this time of year, is we buy a whole bushel of greasy beans and it’s a family deal; everybody’s stringing.”

He appreciates the versatility of beans, which can be blanched, baked, roasted, or eaten fresh. Hayes shares three recipes that highlight his favorite varieties: stringless green beans that are easy to grow, greasy beans that can be found at farmers markets in July and August, and tongue of fire beans streaked with stunning red stripes.

Whether you want to keep it simple with stringless or string each greasy by hand, these recipes are perfect for a late summer meal.

Canyon Kitchen

150 Lonesome Valley Rd.
Sapphire
(828) 743-7967
http://lonesomevalley.com/