![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tylikThis isn't particularly quick, but it's also not difficult... and more to the point, it provides a tastey base upon which all kinds of other dishes which are quick can be built.
Beans with winter squash, tomatillos and peppers
Select a good sized (I usually use one that can hold between 4 and 8 quarts of cooked beans) pot with a thick bottom.
Cover the bottom with dried beans*, to a depth of 2-4 cm
Add water until the beans are covered to about three time their depth. Cover, and leave to sit overnight, adding more water if necessary **
After the beans have soaked, pour out remaining water, and substitute with new, covering by at least half an inch. Bring to a simmer, reduce to low head, and cover. Allow to simmer for an hour or so, checking occasionally to add water, and to gently stir to make sure beans aren't sticking to the bottom of the pan. (For this reason use a thick bottomed pan with low heat. If in doubt, add a little more liquid... or possibly use a spacer on the burner.) By this time the beans should be becoming tender. If they are not, continue simmering until they are.
Chop
1-2 onions
1 smallish to medium butternut squash, or similar sized other favorite winter squash***
A generous double handful of tomatillos. More if I happen to have them on hand.
Peppers -- a mix of what you like. I usually use a couple good sized chili anchos, soaked and chopped, and then a mix of green and ripe other peppers, often anaheims, pasillos, and whatever else looks good. (This summer my hungarian hot wax peppers did well, so I used them.)
Add these to the pot
Also add:
At least a head of garlic, crushed, peeled and sliced (it's garlic, you know what to do)
Some corriander, crushed or ground
Some epazote (this is supposed to make the beans more digestible)
A generous pinch of cumin, a bay leaf if you like...
Leave to simmer until the vegetables are soft, the beans are very tender, and all and all it is a thick and wonderous beany dish. Add salt to taste. Let it simmer for another ten minutes or so, check the seasonings, and it is done.
This freezes well. Spoon some on a tortilla, cover with a slice or two of cheese (no, I don't eat cheese anymore, but I remember extra sharp white cheddar as working particularly well), stick it under the salamander for a minute, and it's a great lunch. Serve it with rice. Make enchilladas with it. Whatever. Good stuff.
* I've been using pinto beans, but use your own favorite
** In a pinch, you can also cover the beans with water, bring them briefly to a boil, then remove them from heat and let them soak for at least an hour.
*** I use a heavy duty potato peeler to remove the rind, halve the squash and remove the seeds, and then cube it with a heavy knife
Beans with winter squash, tomatillos and peppers
Select a good sized (I usually use one that can hold between 4 and 8 quarts of cooked beans) pot with a thick bottom.
Cover the bottom with dried beans*, to a depth of 2-4 cm
Add water until the beans are covered to about three time their depth. Cover, and leave to sit overnight, adding more water if necessary **
After the beans have soaked, pour out remaining water, and substitute with new, covering by at least half an inch. Bring to a simmer, reduce to low head, and cover. Allow to simmer for an hour or so, checking occasionally to add water, and to gently stir to make sure beans aren't sticking to the bottom of the pan. (For this reason use a thick bottomed pan with low heat. If in doubt, add a little more liquid... or possibly use a spacer on the burner.) By this time the beans should be becoming tender. If they are not, continue simmering until they are.
Chop
1-2 onions
1 smallish to medium butternut squash, or similar sized other favorite winter squash***
A generous double handful of tomatillos. More if I happen to have them on hand.
Peppers -- a mix of what you like. I usually use a couple good sized chili anchos, soaked and chopped, and then a mix of green and ripe other peppers, often anaheims, pasillos, and whatever else looks good. (This summer my hungarian hot wax peppers did well, so I used them.)
Add these to the pot
Also add:
At least a head of garlic, crushed, peeled and sliced (it's garlic, you know what to do)
Some corriander, crushed or ground
Some epazote (this is supposed to make the beans more digestible)
A generous pinch of cumin, a bay leaf if you like...
Leave to simmer until the vegetables are soft, the beans are very tender, and all and all it is a thick and wonderous beany dish. Add salt to taste. Let it simmer for another ten minutes or so, check the seasonings, and it is done.
This freezes well. Spoon some on a tortilla, cover with a slice or two of cheese (no, I don't eat cheese anymore, but I remember extra sharp white cheddar as working particularly well), stick it under the salamander for a minute, and it's a great lunch. Serve it with rice. Make enchilladas with it. Whatever. Good stuff.
* I've been using pinto beans, but use your own favorite
** In a pinch, you can also cover the beans with water, bring them briefly to a boil, then remove them from heat and let them soak for at least an hour.
*** I use a heavy duty potato peeler to remove the rind, halve the squash and remove the seeds, and then cube it with a heavy knife
