Soaking in the flavor
If you put in the time, a pot of beans delivers a delicious payoff
Cooking dried beans is like a super-safe investment. Sure, they take more time to cook, but you will be rewarded.
If you have the time, consider dried beans, as they are little sponges that soak up the liquid they have been cooked in. Sometimes a can of beans is the perfect choice to get dinner on the table fast. You can add things to put on them, but they already have been cooked in water, so they’re not going to absorb too much flavor. Cooking dried beans is a different story. They soak up the flavors you introduce during the cooking process, which results in loads of flavor. This is my go-to basic recipe for a pot of beans, but the variation possibilities are pretty much endless. You could use a different bean like anasazi or black. You could skip the meat, or add something else like ground sausage or diced chicken. You could add a splash of wine, a spoon of tomato paste or a can of coconut milk. You could add other aromatic vegetables like carrot, celery and peppers. You could switch up the spices depending on what you have or what sounds good to you at the time. The past few years, I have had a hankering to add lots of black pepper and a pinch of ground lavender to beans. But this recipe hits the spot for all the ways you can eat them — on their own, with a fried egg on top, with rice, with tacos, or paired with roasted veggies or chicken.
Beans have more cooking myths attached to them than just about anything. To soak or not to soak, to salt at the beginning or the end, to cover or not to cover. After cooking beans in a variety of home and restaurant settings for more years than I can count, this is my favorite way to cook them for maximum flavor.
EVERYDAY BEANS
2 cups dried pinto beans 6 cups water or broth ¼ pound bacon, diced 1 onion, diced 2-4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped 1 tablespoon chile powder or 2-3 dried chiles 2 teaspoons paprika 2 teaspoons dried oregano 2 teaspoons salt As many twists of fresh ground black pepper as you want
Preparation: Rinse beans and look through for any pebbles or debris. Place beans in a large pot with water. Bring pot to a boil and turn off heat. Let sit for one hour. Don’t drain them, just let them hang out while you’re doing the next step.
In another large pot over medium heat, add the bacon. Stir every few minutes and cook until the bacon is brown and the majority of the fat has rendered into the pan.
Add the onion, garlic, chile powder or dried chiles, paprika, oregano, salt and pepper. Cook for around 10 minutes or until the onions start to wilt.
Add the beans and soaking water to the pot with the onion mixture. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat to low. Simmer the beans for 2-3 hours, or until they are soft enough and taste wonderful to you. Adjust seasoning as needed.
Marianne Sundquist is a chef, food business consultant and shares recipes for home cooks on Instagram @chefmariannesundquist. She owns the catering business Daya, which has shifted for the time being into an online general store, sourcing and delivering pantry staples to area residents. Visit dayasantafe. square.site and email her at marianne@dayasantafe.com.