Bacon & Cranberry Bean Ragout and Public Apology to Mr. Bean

During this video, which features a rustic and deeply satisfying bacon and cranberry bean ragout, I make a joke about the great British actor Rowan Atkinson�s appearance at the Olympics. Based on all the thoughtful, politely worded comments I�m getting on YouTube, apparently I�m the only one in the world who�s not a huge Mr. Bean fan.

Based on the response, I�m clearly missing something. While I find Mr. Bean more creepy than comedic, I�ve been told to ignore the movies he did for American theaters (��Ha! It�s funny �cause he fell down!�), and instead check out some of his brilliant work on British television. Well, that�s not going to happen anytime soon. I still haven�t finished catching up on all the Benny Hills.  

Anyway, as usual, I�ll assume I�m wrong and Mr. Bean really is comedy gold. My sincerest apologies to Mr. Rowan Atkinson � not so much for my harmless one-liner, but for him possibly finding out about the slight, and having to read this lame excuse for a pork and beans post.

Oh yeah, the bacon and cranberry bean ragout! It was super tasty, and as I stated in the clip, would make a stellar side dish to pretty much anything coming off your late summer grill. I hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 side dish portions:
1 cup shelled cranberry beans

1/4 cup minced shallots

4 or 5 slices of bacon

1 tsp olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

4 cloves garlic, crushed

2 cups chicken broth, or as needed

2 tsp chopped rosemary

2 tsp lemon zest

2 tbsp lemon juice

cayenne to taste

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp hot chilies

1 tbsp fresh herb like Italian parsley, chervil, oregano, etc.