Recipe: A Flavorful Pot of Beans

Cheap Eats with a Rich Taste—Peppers and Pork Make Yummy Pintos

© Jill K. Decker

Oct 21, 2008

As the financial world crashes around us, inexpensive comfort food is a key to keeping your strength and spirits up. Try this warm, hearty bean dish over brown rice made with 2 parts stock and 1 part enchilada sauce for the cooking liquid—you’ll get complete protein and a happy full belly.

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 stalk of celery, diced, plus the leafy parts
• 2 jalapenos diced finely
• 1 Pasilla pepper, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2-4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tsp California Chile powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 ham hock or pork hock
• 3 cups pinto beans
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 4 cups water
• 1 bay leaf
• salt and pepper
• 6 stalks of parsley
• 6 sticks of fresh thyme
• zest of 1 lemon
• chopped parsley

Method:

1. Dice and chop all of the aromatics, being careful to remove the seeds and ribs from the peppers— and to wash your hands thoroughly after touching the jalapenos.
2. Set aside one diced jalapeno.
3. Heat olive oil in a 4 quart stock pot over medium heat for a few minutes and add in onions. Salt the onions and let them soften for a minute. Add in the carrot, celery, Pasilla and salt and pepper them. Let them soften for about 3 minutes to deepen their flavors. Add in 1 of the jalapenos and the garlic and cook for just a minute to awaken the flavors.
4. Scoot the vegetables to a heap on one side and add in the spices: the chili powder, cumin and coriander. Let them warm in the oil at the bottom of the pan for a minute, then stir the vegetables around to incorporate.
5. Add 1 ham or pork hock to the pot and 3 cups of soaked, uncooked beans. Salt and pepper the beans generously. Then add 2 cups of chicken stock and 4 cups of water. Simmer, uncovered for 1-1/2 to 2 hours.
6. When the beans are soft and the mixture is still fairly soupy, tie the stalks of parsley and thyme together by their stems and set into the cooking liquid. Leave there for 5-10 minutes until wilted and the thyme leaves have fallen off the stems into the beans. Remove the stalks and stems.
7. Let the mixture continue to cook until the liquid has evaporated to the point you want—juicy, but not soupy. Then remove the pork and add in the zest of one lemon and the rest of the diced jalapeno. Turn off the heat and add in the chopped parsley before serving.

Endless Variations

The ingredients can easily be adjusted to make this a vegetarian dish, by omitting the ham hock and switching to vegetable stock.

You can use this bean base and just add more chicken stock for a soup.

From there you can make it into a familiar favorite – but with more beans. Add more chicken stock, ½ cup of enchilada sauce, 1 cup of shredded chicken and some crushed tortilla chips for a tortilla soup.

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