A personal kitchen diary. I try new recipes and make notes on what works and what doesn't. Sometimes I can things, and sometimes I dry herbs. This is the story of my kitchen.
These may be the best black-eyed peas I have ever made. Is it because they are Rancho Gordo beans? Could be! Rancho Gordo beans are so high quality. Could it be because I used a slow-cooker—basically my go-to way of cooking beans now. Could it …
Let’s get started. Just don’t call it a Cuban Black Bean soup. The ingredient list is short 1 lb dry black beans 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced 1 green bell pepper, finely diced 3 cloves garlic, minced ham hocks 1/2 cup olive oil 2 …
Slow Cooker Beans
1 lb black-eyed peas
1 bay leaf
1 stalk celery
1 smoked ham hock
4 cups Chicken broth
This is my favorite way to cook up a batch of beans. Just put everything in a slow cooker, make sure the liquid covers the beans by two inches, set it on low and check it 8 hours later. (Note: apparently this is not safe with red kidney beans although I can’t remember the reason—so check before cooking red kidney beans or just don’t do it this way.)
I cooked my beans the day before and put in the fridge overnight.
Hoppin John
1 T vegetable oil
1 yellow onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Diced ham hock (from the beans cooked the day before)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp semi-sweet smoked paprika*
2 tsp (plus more to taste) Tony Chachere’s seasoning
1 cup parboiled rice
Black-eyed peas plus its liquid (cooked the day before)
2-3 cups chicken stock
Heat oil over medium – medium-high heat in a large dutch oven. Add diced onion and celery. Cook and stir often until the vegetables are softened but not browned—up to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and stir just until fragrant, about 30 minutes.
Add the diced ham hock and seasonings. Please note that I added some smoked paprika because I didn’t have a smoked ham hock today and I was trying to add some smokey flavor. Hopefully I will have a smoked ham hock next time, and if so I probably won’t add the paprika.
Stir in the rice and toast for a minute or two. Stir in the beans, and add 2-3 cups of chicken stock, depending on how much liquified was left in the beans.
Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer and cover. Cook 20 minutes, take off the heat and let it sit 5 minutes.
1/2 lb pork Italian Sweet Sausage, rolled into small balls. 1 small yellow onion, peeled and diced 3 cloves garlic, minced Olive oil 2 cups chicken broth 2 cups tomato sauce 2 cups white beans 2 or 3 cups roughly chopped sturdy spinach or other …
The Beans Look specifically for beans labeled Central America red beans or black beans. They are smaller than the usual beans you might find in the US, and they seem to hold their shape better. I made mine in a slow cooker, followed that airport-purchased …
I made this first as a black bean dip, but, it tasted so good that I also used it on a baked sweet potato, and later thinned it with some broth and ate it as soup!
Black Bean Mix
1 Tablespoon grapeseed oil
1 red onion, minced
4 garlic cloves, smashed
2 jalapeños, seeded and with the ribs removed, finely diced (remember to wear gloves when handling the jalapeños!)
1 to two cans black beans, drained and rinsed
Juice of one lime
1 tsp ground cumin
Large handful of cilantro
Warm the oil in a large pan over low to medium heat. Once warm, add the red onion, jalapeños and garlic to the pan and cook and stir until softened but not browned, 4-5 minutes.
Add the first can of black beans and the cumin, and stir together, then mix in the cilantro and the lime juice.
Add the entire mixture to a food processor and blend to the consistency that you prefer. Taste the mixture, and add more beans if you feel more are needed, and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper, more cumin if you like, and lime juice.