Canned beans are so passe. I don’t know where the great fear of dried beans came from, but it’s over-rated. In my journey of culinary exploration I’ve been playing with different recipes, different beans and different methods. So far my favorite has been pinto beans from Cooking Dude.
As you will learn if you continue to follow my posts, I rarely follow a recipe as it is written. Drives some folks bonkers. I always say a recipe is like the speed limit, merely a suggestion. My version of pinto beans has a few added yummies and certainly a bit more zip. This recipe can be cut in half easily and freezes great.
- 1 pound (2 cups) dried pinto beans
- 3/4 head garlic, minced or crushed
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1/2-1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2-1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper
- 8 cups water with 2 Tablespoon adobo sauce mixed in (you have to stir really well to get it all dissolved before you add to the beans- lesson learned)
Rinse your beans and sort through them as you add them to the pot, looking for and discarding the little pieces of soil and then drain the rinse water. The pot needs to simmer for about three hours, so you can keep the heat pretty low, or even use a crock pot and let them cook all day. Toward the end of the cooking time add salt and pepper, if so desired.
Now what to do with a big pot of beans? One of my favorite stand-by dinners is a burrito bowl. Make some rice, top with your yummy pinto beans, olives, cheese, sour cream and salsa. Enjoy!
Lula Harp 