I wrote the bulk of this post about dried beans in November — six months ago. When I began writing this, my mother was still alive (getting sick, but I didn’t know it then), Corona was a beer, and I had a long list of things to do around our new house. #MahKitchen
Social Distancing. Pandemic. #WashYourHands #FlattenTheCurve
Now, I bake bread and make masks. I worry at every cough. I’m NOT WORKING! I’m OK waiting on line to get into Trader Joe’s. I start looking for flour waaaay before I need it. I DON’T KNOW IF I HAVE A JOB. My garden is outstanding. I greet weird shortages (olive oil, really?) with a shrug. The bathroom is painted. And my personal grooming is shot to shit. #CoronaLife
I’m afraid to spend the little extra cash that comes with being laid off (with - it seems - about 25% of Portland). What if this thing drags on for six more months? #GettingUsedToPerpetualLowLevelAnxiety
But I’m lucky. I love my partner and being home with him 24/7 has been wonderful. #HoneymoonCoronaStyle
Back to beans and my pre-COVID-19 take on dried beans. Which — with shortages of beef and pork expected — may stand in for “protein” at dinner.
OK, here goes:
I don't know which is better. The toothsome beans lovingly soaked overnight and cooked in stock and water OR the stock and water “juice” that is bean broth.
When my partner and I bought a house, I knew we'd need to economize. So, I started cooking beans. A lot of beans. Black beans with tomato and cumin, white beans with peas and asparagus. Lemony beans with thyme and OO. Mixed beans & lentils with onion and herbs, one step away from bean soup.
Beans are frugal. And beans augment a less-animal-protein lifestyle — one of the things I want to turn from novelty to habit (like water aerobics or flossing daily).~
If one likes to cook, beans are really easy. If one does not like to cook (or require a recipe to cook from), beans can be a flavorless nightmare. A 12-hour flavorless nightmare. I’ll tell you right up front. Add more salt and olive oil. That’s the secret.
#Soaking
Put a cup of beans in a pot, add three or four cups of water, and set it on the back of the cold stove. The next day, you're all ready to start cooking.
While some cooks insist on tossing the soaking water, I prefer to drain it out and add it back to the beans so there are roughly three cups of liquid to each cup of (unsoaked) beans.
Beans need just a few things to really sing. Lots of water, salt and olive oil. One cup of beans, three cups water, half-cup of olive oil and one tablespoon of salt to start. Use sea salt. I’m starting to like it (for cooking) more than kosher salt. But I’ll always use kosher salt for seasoning meats. Bring to a simmer and cook on medium heat for one to three hours, depending on the bean size etc.
With this base layer on the stove, start prepping garnish. Mirepoix and herbes de Provence? Add a can or a generous cup of light stock — veg or chicken to the pot along with the cut onion, carrot and celery. And a half cup or so of white wine. If your stock is unsalted, add some (about a two-finger pinch) salt.
Black beans? Add tomatoes and/or tomato sauce (or purée), and a half cup of red wine. Add appropriate veggies — peppers, onion, garlic, oregano.
Add fresh things like chopped asparagus or peas to the cooked white beans or sliced olives and raw red onion to the red beans. If your beans lack that certain something, add either butter or miso. Same as wine — red miso in red meaty things and white miso in light chickeny things.
#TestTheBeansThrice
Always test three beans from different parts of the pot. Got that tip from Bon Appetit magazine.
Add more water if you must because it’s all about the bean broth.
Put the beans over rice, if you must, and get all the protein of a meaty meal.
Stay safe &
Love Big
xoxo
Nancy
~ Oh my god I actually cared about crap like this.
