What is your favorite way to cook beans?
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Beans are a staple at my house. They’re cheap, healthy, and my kids love them.
I think my favorite way to eat them is in chili. Soak small red or black beans (or ideally half a pound of each) for a few hours.
Trim 1.5 pounds stew beef, add black pepper and salt. Brown in pan. Add in onion and fresh peppers (bell, poblano, jalapeno, serrano) and cook until onions are clear.
Pour a beer in there, Modelo works great. Add the beans. Add a can of chipotles in adobo sauce. Don’t bother chopping, they’ll break down. Add a jar of salsa. Add water to cover the beans. Add chili powder, bay leaves, oregano, cumin, and more salt & pepper to taste.
Simmer until the beans are fully cooked, probably around a couple hours. Serve with tortilla chips or corn bread.
And before anyone says “beans don’t belong in chili,” they absolutely do.
I’m always on the lookout for more ways to cook beans. What’s your favorite?
I got this recipe from a Sorted video. It’s not exact, cause I don’t remember the details, but I really like it. It’s a honey-harissa halloumi tray bake. I eyeball the quantities, but it’s always been good to me, exact quantities/ratios aren’t super important.
Preheat oven to 400F/200C
One large red onion, chopped pretty big. I quarter it, and then chop each quarter into 3 chunks, and break it all apart with my hands when saucing it up.
About one can kidney or navy beans. I usually use a bit less than a full can, or I guesstimate the equivalent of cooked-from-dry.
A handful of nice black olives, pitted. You want some salty savory ones, not the ones come from a can and taste like metal.
One block of halloumi, about 200-250g, cut into large pieces. 6-8 pieces depending on the size.The sauce is as follows:
2-3 tablespoons of harissa
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
2-3 tablespoons of honey or maple syrup
2 ounces of olive oil
You can vary the spiciness by changing the ratio of tomato paste to harissa.Chuck all the main ingredients in a baking tray, coat everything in sauce, stick in the oven. After 20 minutes, the onions are softened but still have some bite. If you want them softer, bake a bit longer. Serves 2-3, but it makes a decent side in smaller servings.
If you can get them, I like to add brined (not dried) peppercorns. But you can basically add anything to this and it’ll be good. It’s sweet, salty, savory, and spicy with pops of flavour from the olives. In the time it takes your oven to preheat, you should be done preparing everything and it should be ready to go in.
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Beans are a staple at my house. They’re cheap, healthy, and my kids love them.
I think my favorite way to eat them is in chili. Soak small red or black beans (or ideally half a pound of each) for a few hours.
Trim 1.5 pounds stew beef, add black pepper and salt. Brown in pan. Add in onion and fresh peppers (bell, poblano, jalapeno, serrano) and cook until onions are clear.
Pour a beer in there, Modelo works great. Add the beans. Add a can of chipotles in adobo sauce. Don’t bother chopping, they’ll break down. Add a jar of salsa. Add water to cover the beans. Add chili powder, bay leaves, oregano, cumin, and more salt & pepper to taste.
Simmer until the beans are fully cooked, probably around a couple hours. Serve with tortilla chips or corn bread.
And before anyone says “beans don’t belong in chili,” they absolutely do.
I’m always on the lookout for more ways to cook beans. What’s your favorite?
Slow-boiled until tender (roughly 1.5 hours at a simmer) with an onion, salt, pepper (black and/or cayenne), garlic powder, cumin, and paprika. Spoon onto a flour tortilla, add shredded cheese and salsa, crema, BBQ sauce, whatever. Eat and enjoy!
And beans absolutely do belong in chili!
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The can of tomatoes has chunks of garlic. We were out of garlic when we made it, but turned out fine.
I’m a garlic fiend too, don’t get me wrong.
No hate!. Just wish it was more involved.
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I’ve never successfully reconstituted beans, its the one thing I’ve tried I can’t cook. I think my water is too hard, I’ll simmer them at low temp for literally days in the crock pot and they don’t get soft. I’ve read Guides, I’ve seen videos, the beaniverse just said
fuck this girl in particular.I get the canned mixed kidney beans and make chili with them. Back before I went vegetarian I’d cook them with some cross-cut ribs and marrow. Nowadays I use minced mushrooms and seitan
Dry beans need to be pressure cooked for the best results. An instant pot can do it if you want the simple appliance. Google the settings for the beans you want to cook. They come out better than anything you can buy at the store, but results can depend on your experience.
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Dry beans need to be pressure cooked for the best results. An instant pot can do it if you want the simple appliance. Google the settings for the beans you want to cook. They come out better than anything you can buy at the store, but results can depend on your experience.
I guess I wasn’t clear when I said the beaniverse said ‘fuck me’. I’ve wasted probably fifteen pounds of dried beans using pressure cookers over the years. They still cronch in the middle.
As I told the other person, I think my Water is too hard and I’m not gonna buy bottled water just to make beans.
Either that or the same temporal anomoly that makes people lost track of time around me also effects bean time.
