What to do with sea beans?

[PekoePeony]

Yesterday I was at my local gourmet grocery store (Draeger's, for those of you in the SF Bay Area) and noticed that they were selling sea beans. I bought about 1/2 pound but I'm not sure what to do with them. Any suggestions?

[rworange]

Well, not only have I never cooked with them or tried them, but I never heard of them before. So here's what I found on Google to satisfy my own curiosity, fwiw.

The Seattle Times had the best overall info with a nice picture

Snappy, briny 'sea beans' bring the beach to your table
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/pacificnw07172005/taste.html

Hormel also has a nice overall description and says ...

:"The crisp textured bean stems and leaves can be eaten raw, steamed, boiled, sautéed, or stir-fried to add a unique presentation for fish and seafood dishes. They are often served fresh in salads or can be boiled and served with melted butter for dipping"
http://www.hormel.com/kitchen/glossary.asp?id=35525

A few web recipes ...

They seem to be good with eggs and omelets ... A Fritatta variant with Seabeans
http://www.forkandbottle.com/cooking/recipes/eggpie.htm

Sea Bean, Porcini, Walnut Salad
http://blog.foodienyc.com/2005/06/sea_bean_porcin.html

BLACK ROASTED COD WITH SEA BEANS AND OYSTERS
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/230451

Mussel and Sea Bean Salad
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/mussel-and-sea-bean-salad

Seabean Salad
http://www.emerils.com/recipes/by_name/seabean_salad.html

Gratuitous info ... They are also sold pickled ... the Zuni cookbook has a recipe with one of the many aliases ... glasswort ... I sort of like the French ... haricorts de mer
http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2006/08/seaweed_sandwic.html

More general info
http://www.mistymt.com/specialty/sali...

[PekoePeony]

Wow, thanks for the links!! The only reason I had heard of them was watching too much "Top Chef" -- I noticed the contestants kept mentioning sea beans in their recipes. I'll try pickling a few and using a few in salads and see how they turn out :) Thanks again!