Dear Lynne: You've said on radio there's a way of cooking dried beans where they always taste good. I cannot remember if you said how to do it. Could you give me a recipe? -- Cheapo Cook
Dear Cheapo Cook: Cheap is right. A dollar and a half can buy you a pound of dried organic beans, which when cooked right can make four to six people happy and full.
Cooking beans this way gives you great taste straight from the bean pot with no need for further work (except maybe a squeeze of lemon). Make up batches using different beans and freeze them in packs for one, two, four and six.
Now to the cooking. Steve Sando, who raises heirloom beans at his Rancho Gordo (www.ranchogordo.com) in California, talked about this method, which isn't new but has been long overlooked in the recipe books.
Instead of merely simmering soaked beans in water, you first do a saute of flavorful vegetables (often celery, carrot and onion, or just onion, with optional flavorings like garlic and any of a number spices), add your soaked and drained beans to the pot with fresh water, and simmer them slowly.
The basic recipe goes like this. Just don't add wine, vinegar, citrus, tomatoes, molasses or brown sugar until the beans are done. Their acids slow down cooking.
AROMATIC SIMMER OF DRIED BEANS
Makes between 4 and 6 cups of cooked beans.
Refrigerate cooked beans up to 4 days; freeze up to 6 months.
This method turns simply simmered dried beans into a meal unto themselves. Add a wedge of whole-grain bread, toasted and rubbed with garlic and olive oil, and you have not only a complete protein equal to meat, but a wonderfully satisfying supper for maybe a dollar a serving.
By the way, farmers all over the Mediterranean were onto this idea ages ago.
Cook to cook: The older the bean, the longer it takes to cook. Most beans are done in 45 to 90 minutes, except chickpeas, which need 2 to 3 hours. Tender is how you want your cooked beans, so make sure there's no crunch at the end of cooking.
1 pound dried beans of your choice (Some of my personal favorites are organic pinto, black beans, cranberry beans, chickpeas, calypso beans, big Spanish whites and cannelloni.)
Water
Good-tasting extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 medium onion, cut into a 1/4-inch dice
1/2 medium carrot, cut into a 1/4-inch dice
Top third of a celery stalk with leaves, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed (optional)
4 whole cloves (optional)
Possible seasonings: fresh thyme, basil, sage, rosemary, parsley or marjoram; or ground or whole allspice, coriander seed, cumin, black pepper, or cinnamon
Salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Soak the beans either for 1 hour by covering them with boiling water and letting them stand at room temperature, or by covering them with cold water and refrigerating them from 6 to 12 hours. Drain.
Lightly film the bottom of a 6-quart pot with olive oil. Heat over medium-high and stir in the vegetables. Saute over medium-high until they begin to color. If using garlic and/or seasonings, stir them in with the drained beans with 1 teaspoon salt. Add water to cover by 1-1/2 to 2 inches.
Bring the water to a boil, adjust heat so the liquid barely bubbles, then partially cover and cook the beans 45 minutes. Taste to see if they are almost tender. If not, continue cooking until nearly tender. (The older the bean, the longer it takes to cook.) Add salt to taste, uncover and let the beans stand off the heat for 15 to 20 minutes. They should finish cooking to tender, but not mushy.
Serve them hot in bowls, like a soupy stew, seasoned to taste with the addition of a little lemon or olive oil, or chill quickly in their liquid. If you want drained beans for a dish, don't discard the liquid. Usually it's excellent when used as you would any vegetable or poultry broth.
Variation:
Caribbean Black Bean Stew: Cook black beans as suggested above, doubling the onion, carrot and celery plus the garlic in the saute. Add the 4 cloves, a heaping 1/2 teaspoon whole allspice, 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seed and a generous 1/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper with the beans and water.
When the beans are just tender, stir in a 14-ounce can of diced tomatoes with their liquid, 1/3 cup white vinegar, 1 large yam, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice, and 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon dried chile powder.
Simmer the stew uncovered about 30 minutes, or until the yam is tender and the stew is thick. Adjust seasonings to taste, top with chopped fresh coriander or parsley and squeeze the juice of a fresh lime over the stew.
(Lynne Rossetto Kasper hosts "The Splendid Table," American Public Media's weekly national show for people who love to eat, and is the co-author of "The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper: Recipes, Stories and Opinions." Ask questions and find Lynne, recipes and station listings at www.splendidtable.org. Join in on The Splendid Table's "Turkey Confidential" program, broadcast live on Thanksgiving Day from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. EST on your public radio station, by calling 800-537-5252.)
THE SPLENDID TABLE(R)'S HOW TO EAT SUPPER
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